Missing: Presumed Dead
by LostInLost18
Summary: AU, set post 2x08 'Rose'. Damon and Stefan go chasing after Elena, on the way discovering some dark secrets history should've kept in the dark, evil beyond imagining, and that a certain rogue vampire might just have fallen, and fallen hard. DELENA.
1. Loss

_**Missing: Presumed Dead. **_

**Summary: **My first sort of Vampire Diaries multi-chaptered story, if you will. It's basically a 'What If' scenario, in which Elijah takes Elena and doesn't waste time on cleaving Trevor's head off. Stefan and Damon are broken to find she's gone but are determined to find her. They, and a few others, know her to be alive but, as time quickly goes on, to the rest of Mystic Falls she becomes missing, presumed dead.

* * *

_Chapter 1: Loss _

She stood there in utter terror, watching with baited breath as the vampire Elijah examined her with a blend of mild surprise and curiosity. Having already declared her human, he seemed to find her resemblance to Katherine extremely fascinating - but then, who didn't? - judging by the fact he kept staring at her face.

"Well, we have a long journey ahead of us, we should be going," Elijah announced coldly, still unable to take his eyes off of her.

Elena felt like her entire body had been drenched in ice cold water. She knew what was going to happen to her, what these Originals wanted from her, and she knew if Elijah took her to them, that was it for her. _You're the one who has to die,_ kept ringing through her head and, every time it did, she felt physically sick.

Elijah grabbed her arm, nodded courtly in Rose's direction, and started pulling her along before stopping in front of a clearly nervous Trevor, whose eyes were peeled on the ground, his face pale white with fear and dread.

"You're lucky I'm on a strict schedule," Elijah informed him, his voice thick with ice. "Else I would rip your head off right here, right now, for your disloyalty. You dare stand here and beg for my forgiveness, when it is your fault Katerina Petrova still walks this earth? I admire your pluck, I must say." His eyes flew to Rose's. "I grant you both your freedom from _me_ but not from them. That, coming from me, is more then generous. Take it and get the hell away from here before I change my mind."

He grabbed Elena's arms, ignoring her whimpers of fear, and pulled her out of the room, down the dark corridor, and out the front door. His car was parked directly in front of the house and he pushed her roughly towards it, stopping her only when she was near to the door to bind her hands and gag her, before pushing her inside, fastening her seatbelt for her (throwing her a cocky smile into the bargain) and shutting the door.

Elena desperately looked around for some sort of clue as to Stefan and Damon's arrival, but she couldn't spot them anywhere. She hoped they would find her, although she didn't know how they'd even found her in the first place. She could still feel Bonnie's note crushed up inside her hands and, strange as it sounded, it gave her a weird kind of hope. She knew Damon and Stefan wouldn't stop until she was found, although she did have to admit the lengths they would go to keep her safe did frighten her sometimes.

"I must apologize for tying you up like this," Elijah said, as he sat down inside the car and started the engine. "It's quite rude of me to treat you, a guest, like this. But, as you've probably gathered, you're very valuable and, well, I can't afford to have you running away or shouting for help can I?"

She tried to ask him about the moonstone, but the gag had been expertly slapped against her mouth. She couldn't get out much more than a muffled hum, let alone a desperate chance at negotiating her release.

Elijah glanced at her and chuckled lightly, causing her to tremble at the sound. Everything about him frightened her, from his ice cold expression to his stiff gestures and movements, like he simply didn't possess the energy or the effort to waste any more time on doing anything more.

She felt tears start to leak down her cheeks. She was so frightened, so terrified of what was going to happen that the last remnants of hope she carried fluttered out of the window, disappearing into the horizon like everything else she loved.

_Please, please, save me,_ she silently begged Stefan and Damon, wherever they were. She had no idea how far away they even were. All she could do was pray that they would find her somehow, someway.

Elijah said something else to her but she wasn't listening. She was concentrating on staying alive, and she knew her best chance at staying alive was keeping the whereabouts of the moonstone secret.

A small secret smile emerged on her face as she thought of the moonstone. She knew even if he did learn its whereabouts, he'd have to take her back to retrieve it. If he wandered into the tomb which enclosed a probably infuriated Katherine, he wouldn't be able to come back out.

There was still hope.

* * *

The two brothers walked towards the house, both of them extremely on edge. Stefan clutched the bag closer to him, hoping and praying she was still alive, still ok, because he couldn't imagine what he'd do if she wasn't.

"Oh, God! That's completely suffocating!" Damon suddenly complained.

Stefan turned to face him, puzzled by his sudden outburst.

"What is?" he enquired, irritated at being stopped in his mission to rescue Elena.

"The tension that's pumping out of you, Stef; will you relax?" Damon informed him, his usual smirk appearing. "She's going to be fine. We're gonna get her out of there, no matter what."

_Even if we don't, _both brothers silently added to themselves, knowing her safety was the main thing. Neither of them particularly feared death - not this time round, anyway - and if it was for a good cause - namely, Elena getting back to Mystic Falls in one piece - they were both willing to lay their lives on the line for it.

For Stefan, that irritating sense of duty and honour had always been there - Damon had spent most of their lives as the undead poking fun at him for it - and now it seemed to be in Damon too, and it wasn't hard to guess what - or, rather who - was behind the transformation.

They approached the house cautiously, both of them glancing at the other as if silently confirming what they were about to do.

"You go round the back," Damon muttered to him. "I'll go in through the front, make a bit of noise, spook the hell out of them, before you swoop in, distract whoever's got her with a bit of good old fashioned staking, and then we'll grab her."

"You make it sound so easy," Stefan commented lightly. "Like it's just a walk in the park." _Like Elena's life isn't at stake if we screw this up._

Damon seemed to understand what his brother wasn't saying. Well, nearly a century and a half of stalking him, making his life hell, did give him some experiencing of reading his brother like a book, on picking up stuff that his brother didn't openly reveal.

"We're not going to screw this up," he informed him. "We're going to stake the bastards who did this to her and we're going to get her out of there."

"Alright," Stefan replied calmly, or as calmly as he could manage given the circumstances. "Just as long as you get your priorities right. Elena first, revenge second."

Damon gave him a mock salute before racing off in a blur of movement. Stefan watched him for a moment, worried that Damon's _kill-now-think-later_ policy would come into play, and that Elena's life would be at stake because of it, but then remembered the giant elephant in the room which would ensure his brother would behave at all costs.

And, although it bugged him like hell that his brother loved Elena too, he knew he had to reshuffle his priorities too. He had to rescue Elena now, be the jealous brother later.

He ran towards the front door, and opened it quietly, immediately running up the stairs. He could hear voices, but not Elena's. He heard a man's voice and a woman's voice, but no frightened third voice to indicate she was even here. He began to worry for the first time whether they'd even got the right place.

"Damon," he hissed as quietly as possible.

His brother raced into view. "What? I was practising my relay skills."

Stefan rolled his eyes, used to his brother's dry sense of humour by now.

"I don't think she's even here," he hissed.

"Who's there?" a loud voice suddenly called.

They both turned as one as a short, dark haired woman and her companion walked out into the hall. The woman had sharp, cutting eyes, and seemed to move her position in defence of her partner, the tall, lanky haired man with nervous eyes and a posture which indicated he was scared.

"We're the Salvatore brothers," Damon announced, rushing down the stairs so he was only inches away from the woman. "I'm Damon; the broody looking one is my brother, Stefan."

"I'm perfectly aware who you are," Rose said coolly, her eyes flashing to Stefan's.

"Well…I just thought you ought to know who will be killing you, unless you hand Elena over," Damon said, his smirk evolving into his best efforts at a threatening smile, something neither of the two vampires looked impressed with.

"We don't have her," her partner spoke up, looking visibly relieved for some unknown reason. "Elijah took her."

Suddenly, Stefan whirled down the stairs and grabbed the lanky haired vampire by the collar of his jacket.

"Took her? Took her where?" he snarled.

"We don't know," Rose admitted, stepping in, forcing Stefan to release him. "We had nothing personal against the girl. We needed her to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."

"What?" Stefan and Damon snapped as one.

Rose ducked her head down a little, at least having the grace to look abashed.

"The Originals have been chasing us down for centuries," she explained. "We - well, Trevor here - got us into hot water with them and they've wanted us dead ever since. When we realized the existence of another Petrova doppelganger, we saw our chance at getting our freedom back. That's all we wanted - to stop running."

Damon's lips curled into an unfathomable expression, which could've been either fury or complete and utter disdain. Stefan's stomach had physically dropped when he'd realized they'd spoken no word of a lie. It wasn't just that he couldn't hear Elena, he couldn't feel her presence in the building, the way he normally could. His love for her meant that he always knew when she was around, or nearby.

Judging by the fact Damon looked like he was itching to kill, he could feel her gaping absence too.

He was not far off. The eldest Salvatore brother certainly couldn't detect her presence in the house, and he could read on the faces of these…indescribable monsters he was ashamed to call his fellow vampires, that they breathed no word of a lie.

Elena was gone.

"So, where is she now?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "Tell me - and I'll make your last seconds on this earth painless, even though I don't do mercy towards those who mess with the people I care about."

"We don't know," Rose snapped, her expression suddenly showing fear. "Elijah's taken her to the Originals. Based on what we've told you, I'm sure you can understand our lack of knowledge on their whereabouts. Like I said before, it wasn't anything personal."

Stefan groaned loudly and smashed his fists loudly against the walls.

"I must say, Stefan," Rose added, looking at him curiously. "Lexie told me you were one of the good ones, and I see why she says it. Although, your choice of girl seems to suggest you have certain issues with your exes…"

"Shut up," Stefan roared, feeling suddenly vengeful. "I want to know where she is! I want to bring her back! You say you want your freedom, yes? Well is it really worth trading your immortal lives for that of someone who has barely begun to live? Is it?"

"Stefan, take the tantrum down a notch," Damon remarked calmly. "Your blood pressure's waaaay off the meter. I pull off better angry monologues anyway." He saw Stefan's scowl in his direction. "What? I do."

The younger brother started pacing, an indicative sign of his distress. Damon felt for him, he really did, but they were wasting time interviewing these yahoos. This time could've been put to better use, I.e. finding Elena.

"My patience with you two only extends so far," he informed the other two. "It's because of Elena, and because of my brother, that I'm not watching your heads roll around the floor right about now. So, last chance - where has he taken her?"

He grabbed the nearby coat stand and snapped in too, sharpening the end for effect. He briefly grinned when he noticed the tall, nervous looking vampire flinch at the sound it made, and increased the volume, enjoying the power he had.

"The Originals don't all hang out with each other," Rose explained, eyeing the makeshift stake warily. "So, it's likely he's gone to where one of the first Originals lives, which, last I heard, was up in Vancouver."

"Canada? Seriously?" Damon rolled his eyes at the cliché of it all.

"That's a two day drive at least," Stefan noted. "What if he has - ?"

"He won't do anything to her without the moonstone," Rose reassured him. "They need the moonstone present in order to break the Sun and the Moon curse."

"What'll they do to her if they get it?" Damon, as always, was the one to ask the harder questions. "Why do they need her?"

"The moonstone binds the curse - sacrifice is the one that breaks it. Come on, don't you boys know your history?" Rose replied, one eyebrow raised out of curiosity.

Stefan looked completely tortured, whereas, by stark contrast, Damon just looked pissed. The very idea of Elena being a sacrifice was infuriating, insulting and something that definitely wasn't going to happen. Not on their watch.

"I suggest you get yourselves out of here," Damon growled in Rose's direction. "Get out, if your precious freedom means that much. Go!"

Rose gave him a wary glance, but nodded towards Trevor to leave. He gave the brothers a parting grimace, before he dashed out of sight.

"For what it's worth," she said, hovering by the door. "We're sorry for our part in this. I hope you find your girl."

And, with that, she disappeared…

With no inclination as to which of the brother's she was referring to.

"Is it just me," Damon muttered darkly, "or were those two about as helpful as getting a stake covered in vervain through the heart?"

"We have a lead, Damon, and that's a start," Stefan reminded him, already halfway to the door.

"We're just gonna take their word for it? We're just gonna drop everything and go on a road trip when we don't even know if that's where he's taken her?" Damon protested. "Stefan - do I always have to be the brains?"

"It's Elena," was Stefan's only response.

Damon gave an unnecessarily loud groan, although, like Stefan had so smugly pointed out, he couldn't back away from anything which involved Elena.

"Alright, but if you play the Elena card one more time…" He let the somewhat vague threat hang in the air before following his brother.

* * *

"It's been hours. Why haven't we heard anything yet?"

"Relax, Jeremy. They're probably on their way back right now."

Jeremy sighed heavily, picking himself off the bed so that he could start pacing around the room. It always seemed to help him when he was edge.

"I think something went wrong," he said, going along with his own thoughts. "We should've heard something by now. Stefan promised he'd keep us updated."

"Maybe they've run into a little trouble," Bonnie suggested, her heart racing inside her chest, mostly out of anxiety.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Jeremy plonked himself back on the bed. "How do we know Elena's even alive? I don't understand why they took her."

Bonnie gently rubbed his shoulder trying to comfort him. The motion felt flat to her, because she couldn't put her heart into it, not if she didn't really mean it. She was anxious and sick at the thought of losing Elena, and all of their past fights, their past moments when they'd been so tense with each other they'd felt more like strangers than best friends, suddenly flew out of the window. She just wanted her best friend back, one of the only few people left in this world she could talk to.

Jeremy's phone suddenly buzzed into life, and he quickly picked it up.

"Stefan?" he questioned. "Have you - Is she safe?"

There was a moment's pause.

"_No. She was at the house you found, but another vampire named Elijah took her. Apparently they're heading to Canada."_

"What?" Jeremy demanded. "That's like two days drive away; what does he want with her?"

"_Apparently, she's the key to breaking the curse. She's being taken to one of the original vampires, vampires which are older than Katherine herself. We're driving after them now. You think you can cover for her a little longer?"_

All of a sudden, they heard the door open, and the sound of Jenna's laughter rang up the stairs towards them. Jeremy and Bonnie exchanged a look of despair. How could they hide Elena's disappearance from Jenna?

Suddenly, Bonnie drew inspiration. She bounced off the bed, grabbed some of Elena's clothes and stuffed them into an overnight back.

"We'll stall her," she decided. "I'll tell her she's going to spend the rest of the week with me because she's upset about breaking up with Stefan. You finish talking to Stefan, and I'll meet you in my car in five minutes."

"Why? Where are we going?" Jeremy asked, looking puzzled.

"Remember that witch at the masquerade ball?" Bonnie asked. "I figure she might have some more information about these originals. She had a connection to Katherine, so maybe she told her some stuff. It's worth a try, anyway."

Jeremy stared at her in awe, quite unused to this braver, more dominant Bonnie. He quite liked her this way, actually, as someone who wasn't scared of charging into things head on. It was far more refreshing to see than having everyone tiptoe around him, telling him what he could and couldn't get involved in.

"_Jeremy? Are you still there?"_

"Er, yes," he said, quickly pressing his ear back to the phone. "Bonnie's on it. Stefan…" He waited until Bonnie had left so he could let his emotions loose. "Please bring her home soon. We can't keep this up forever and Jenna's eventually gonna find out. I - I can't deal with all this worry and stress."

On the other end, Stefan sighed.

"_I know, Jeremy. We'll get her back. Soon, I promise."_

Jeremy heard the familiar click and the ring tone and then sighed, wandering into Elena's room, haunted by the emptiness of it. He wondered how many more people he loved would be dragged away from him.

He picked up Elena's small teddy on the bed, surprised she'd kept it all these years. His sole purpose had been a source of a comfort and protection, and he remembered teasing her about why she still kept it around. She'd said plainly that when people grew up, they chucked their toys away and that's when the problems started. She kept it around as a way of warding off all the problems in her life.

It was a nice thought, having something from the innocent years of your life as a way of keeping away the problems you faced as a grown up.

Too bad it never worked.

**A/n: First chapter complete! This story sort of has three different stories, or points of view to it, as you can see. We've got Elena's, Stefan and Damon's, and Jeremy and Bonnie's tales. Don't ask why I chose Canada, it just makes a sort of sense that the originals would've spread out a bit, probably steering clear of Mystic Falls.****This is going to end up Delena, I think, but there will be a while until we reach that point. Enjoy, read and review! :)**


	2. On the Road

_Chapter 2: On the Road_

* * *

It was near enough midnight, and they were still driving.

The road stretched beyond the horizon, and, from the looks of it, time hadn't really done it any favours. Dust rose in cloud form, the dregs of it slowly entering the car through Damon's open window.

The brothers were in silence, mostly, both deep in their own thoughts which all orientated around Elena. They exchanged only the briefest of looks, if only to remind themselves that they were united in the mission to rescue Elena. For Damon, however, he found this truce between them strange. The hatred he'd held in his heart for his brother on the events of 1864 had slowly dispersed over time – because of Elena, mostly – and he briefly speculated over what particular point the need to kill his brother had become the need to protect him.

"Dare I break the silence with a kind of obvious question which should've been asked long ago?" he asked, glancing at Stefan's stiff expression.

"Hm?" Stefan responded, finally responding after a moment's pause. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, as much as I love being completely reckless and jumping into adventures like this with my favourite brother in the whole entire world," Damon replied, showing off his trademark smirk in Stefan's direction, "I would love to know where the hell we're actually going. Vancouver is a bit, er, _general_ wouldn't you say? Unless everyone has suddenly decided to go on holiday at the exact same time, I say our odds of finding Elena aren't in our favour."

"We'll find a clue, a lead, somewhere," Stefan replied quietly. "We have to."

Damon restrained the urge to roll his eyes.

"As much as the mindless optimism inspires me, Stefan, it isn't very helpful. Have Jeremy look up the area, see if any unusual places crop up," he commanded.

Stefan looked at him, surprise appearing in his eyes as if the idea had never occurred to him. Damon had to sigh quietly at that; his brother's naïveté really was breathtaking sometimes. But, to counterbalance that, what his brother lacked in initiative, he made up for in determination, bravery and loyalty, traits he often wished he could say he possessed. Past misdeeds, however, could safely erase any chance he ever had of claiming there was something good inside him. Nine times out of ten, he usually went with his instinct, not his heart, and that usually resulted in the misdeeds in the first place.

Lately, it seemed he was working the other way round – and a certain missing brunette temptress was the cause of it.

He glanced at the dusty road ahead with disdain, restraining to bust out some corny line from an equally corny road-trip flick, but sensed by Stefan's low eyebrows – which, he observed, were perched so low, they looked as though they were about to devour his eyes – that it wouldn't have been appreciated.

He sighed loudly, wishing Elena was here, if only for the fact that she was a far better road trip companion than his scowling brother whose one restriction in life – or death, whichever way you looked at it – was humour. A little humour made any situation better, although he did understand the cause for concern here. Elena's life was at stake here and they didn't know their enemy. If they did, they could've prepared so much better. He wouldn't admit to Stefan, but dealing with the unknown terrified the hell out of him. For all they knew, they could've been heading into a trap, with Elena as bait.

No, he didn't like the fact they were at a major disadvantage here.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Stefan suddenly asked, pulling himself up so he was no longer slouching.

"Sure, go ahead," Damon replied, his eyes firmly on the road. "We do have time to kill."

Stefan hesitated, wondering whether this question's answer was something he really wanted to know. It had been bugging him a while, the knowledge that Damon loved Elena too, and yet he knew the part of Damon which had finally opened itself up to feeling something couldn't be destroyed. Damon may have harboured desires to kill at least every single person in Mystic Falls at one time or another, but the fact he'd helped save it on numerous occasions showed progress was being made. In time, perhaps, Damon could lose the snarky, _I-hate-the-world_ attitude for good.

"When?" he asked quietly. "When did you fall for Elena?"

"What?" Damon had to make sure he wasn't hearing things. "Are you – Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes," Stefan said firmly. "The elephant in the room – let's talk about it."

Damon took his eyes off the road to glare at his brother.

"The desire to bond is real cute, Stefan," he remarked snidely. "But do you really want to do this right now?"

"Why are you dodging?" Stefan asked, looking at him quizzically. "It's not like I'm going to kill you, whatever the answer is, because I don't have the time to play jealous brother…"

"Oh, yes you do," Damon quipped back. "You always have time, bro."

"Quit dodging and for once be honest," Stefan demanded. "I'm just asking for curiosity's sake. When? Was it when you were on the road trip together?"

"You're really doing this, huh?" Damon said, glaring at him. "What do you want me to say, Stefan? That I want her? That I think about her even when I don't want to think about her? That I dream about her? That I hate every second, every moment, you've had with her? That I have to stop myself from pulling her into my arms every time I see her because she's just that irresistible? That I love her so much I'd rather see her happy with you than miserable with me? Pah. I don't do honesty, you know that."

"Hm…" Stefan responded, realizing Damon had deliberately spouted the truth, knowing it would make him uncomfortable to the extreme, in order to make him drop the subject.

They fell into an awkward silence, Stefan reluctant to pursue the subject and Damon refusing point blank to say anymore than he already had.

After five almost torturous minutes of this overbearing silence, Stefan decided to raise another question, thankfully steering away from the subject of Damon and Elena.

"You know what I don't get?" he said, thoughtfully.

"You still talking?" Damon sniped, his eyes still set to _shoot-and-kill_ mode.

Stefan ignored his remark, used to his brother's less than helpful comments.

"If someone's kidnapped Elena, it means they've been watching Mystic Falls. I mean, they can't just have come across her in passing," he remarked, not liking the idea that someone had been watching them all.

"Yeah? And?"

"That doesn't concern you?" Stefan demanded. "I mean, how have we not spotted any new faces in Mystic Falls? It's not exactly an overpopulated area. And how did they spot Elena anyway?"

"We're dealing with vampires who seem to be beyond the norm, Stefan," Damon replied, relieved that he was no longer being interrogated about his so-called feelings for Elena. "They obviously have a lot more experience than us at covering up their tracks. They obviously know a lot more than us, as well. Those two back there knew nothing helpful, except why they've taken her."

"But why pursue Elena? Why not Katherine?" Stefan demanded. "She's the original doppelganger."

"I'm no expert on this," Damon replied, glancing in his direction. "But I suspect the fact Elena is human is probably a _big_ part of it. She's easier to catch, easier to compel."

"But she's wearing her necklace…" Stefan protested.

"And how long do you think it's gonna take them to find out she's wearing a necklace full of vervain, Stefan?" Damon snapped. "They'll have it off her in a second. I don't like the idea any more than you do of her being compelled, but what can we do? All we can do is keep driving."

Stefan, out of frustration more than anything else, slammed his hand against the window, withdrawing his hand quickly when the glass disintegrated onto the ground and below his car seat.

"You're paying for that," Damon remarked, concealing a smirk as he pressed the car for more speed.

* * *

Her entire body felt stiff from lack of use. She was curled against the seat, her head tucked against her shoulder, her arms pushed against the side of the car as she tried to make herself comfortable as best as she could.

Really, there was no way of making herself comfortable in a situation like this. She'd been kidnapped, and was getting further and further away from the people she loved every second.

"Yes?"

She heard Elijah speaking on his phone and kept on feigning sleep as she tried to listen to what was being said.

"Yes, I have her." There was a brief pause. "You failed to mention that to me. Where in the world do I find one of those? They're all but extinct!"

Elena froze, pretty sure he was referring to werewolves. She had no idea what she was a part of, only that her blood was needed to break this curse. She had no idea why they needed a werewolf all of a sudden, although she supposed it made sense, considering it was the Sun _and_ Moon curse they aimed to break.

Elijah's voice sounded irritated now as the conversation continued.

"Yes. Yes, I understand. I can be there in a matter of hours."

_Be where? _Elena wondered, her entire body locked with terror. _Where is he taking me now? _

Suddenly, a rough arm was shaking her and she turned around, all the questions dying on her tongue as she saw his ice cold, even infuriated, expression on his face. She was sensible enough to know that angering him further was unwise, to say the least.

"It seems we need to return to your town for some unfinished business," he told her, scrutinising her closely, his cold eyes locked on hers. "You're not going to make a sound once we get there. You're going to stay put, is that clear?"

She nodded, understanding he was trying to compel her. The best thing she could do was nod along, pretending she was under his influence. Her opportunity for escape had come along, and she intended to grab it with both hands. If he was under the impression she was compelled, he wouldn't be looking for any attempts at an escape and, when the moment was right, she could break free.

Unfortunately, it seemed her captor wasn't easily fooled.

"What is this vervain doing around your neck?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

With one swift motion, he'd ripped it from her neck, causing her body to buck with surprise. She stared into his eyes, feeling herself start to shake with fear. _What's he going to do to me? _She had one delusional moment where she thought he was going to turn her there and then, although she didn't know why that thought crossed her mind.

She tried to look away, God help her, she tried, but his hands were strong. He'd pulled her up and locked his eyes on hers before she'd had time to make any type of move to protect herself. Her eyes visibly widened as his stare bore down on her. His mouth moved, hissing instructions to her, and she knew whatever happened she had to stay in this car.

"Now," Elijah continued, a mocking smile curling his lips. "Sleep. We have a long drive ahead of us."

She tried to fight it, trying to fill her mind with thoughts of Stefan and Jeremy and Bonnie to keep her going, but she found her whole body going slack. Her eyes began to close, although every part of her was screaming for to fight it. There was also a voice inside her head begging her not to give up, begging her to keep fighting, and, as much as she wanted the voice to be Stefan's, it was a lot huskier, a lot more controlled than Stefan's.

And, despite everything the owner of that voice had done to her, she felt a lot safer, somehow, knowing he was out there, fighting to get her back.

Her dreams were fragmented, mostly focusing on her and Stefan, how it felt to have his arms lock around her with the intention of never letting her go. Their entire relationship flashed before her eyes, filling her with a sense of love she just couldn't let go. His heartbroken face when she'd told him it was over hovered in her mind and that was when the strangest thing happened. Stefan's face became eclipsed by another, and each expression the new face showed seemed to show a range of emotions, from anger to heartbreak.

_"You're afraid Katherine's going to send me off the deep end. I don't need her for that." _

_"We were having fun – I wanted it to be real."_

_"Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"_

_"I'm trusting you – don't make me regret it."_

_"It would suck if that was gone forever…"_

She had no idea why Damon had suddenly popped into her head, and, now he was there, he seemed to be too stubborn to move, but she suspected he wasn't there purely by coincidence. Despite what she told herself, she'd been thinking about him a lot lately, only because she was re-evaluating whether or not forgiveness was on the cards where he was concerned. She knew people did stupid, stupid things when they were angry, and, really, it was only a matter of time that he would snap at something she said or did.

Why was she justifying his actions? He'd attempted to kill her brother; the fact that he hadn't succeeded didn't matter. The end, in this case, definitely didn't justify the means. She didn't even know why he was on her mind, let alone why she was even considering forgiving him.

_Because a part of you still cares,_ her mind reminded her. _Sometimes, it doesn't matter what a person does. If they're still in your mind, they're there for a reason._

What possible reason could be behind Damon still lurking inside her mind, the one place she was safe from him?

She didn't want to think about the possibilities – she didn't like what she might discover about herself.

* * *

They had to stop for gas, although Damon took an infinite amount of pleasure at watching Stefan pacing around the car like an animal. It was almost dawn, judging by the fact that a) they'd been driving all night and b) the midnight glow had sort of retreated, leaving in its place a pale pink tinge.

"Ok, we're sorted," he called to his brother. "Let's go…"

"Wait…" Stefan held out a hand to stop him. "I've got another feeling…"

"Oh boy…" Damon rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough that what we are is a cliché of the sadly underappreciated genre of supernatural, but now you've gotta add psychic feelings to that? Tut, tut."

"It's not that kind of feeling," Stefan snapped, ignoring his brother's less than helpful remarks. "There's hardly a single car on the road. Surely, we should've caught up to them by now?"

"How do we even know this Elijah guy took her in a car?" Damon pointed out.

"I don't think we were that far behind them," Stefan plunged on, following his own train of thought. "We can't have been. But there's nothing. Do you think those two we left gave us a false trail?"

Damon feigned a look of surprise.

"Why on Earth would they do that, Stefan? In your world, I thought everyone was as trustworthy and honest as you are," he said.

"Be serious, Damon!" Stefan roared, profoundly irritated at this point.

"Relax, bro," Damon commanded. "I already anticipated your concerns. I called in a favour with an old friend. He's heading back towards Mystic Falls as we speak. We can't do this alone, Stefan. If what I've heard of the Originals is true, we can't rely on good old fashioned staking. We need as much reinforcements as we can."

Only one bit of that statement seemed to sink in with Stefan, judging by his puzzled expression.

"What friend?" he enquired. "I didn't know you made any _friends_ what with your –

"My mission to make your life miserable?" Damon guessed shrewdly. "Come on, Stefan, where did you think I picked the neat crow trick up from? Katherine sure as hell didn't tell me – not that she even had time to - and you didn't stick around to help. It was a learn-as-you-go process."

He momentarily winced, remembering those words had been said before, by Logan Fell, of all people.

They simultaneously climbed into the car.

"What's your friend's name? Why have I never heard about him?" Stefan asked. "Doesn't seem to be your type of thing, keeping things like this secret from me."

"Well, if you just showed a little interest…" Damon feigned an injured tone. "And since when did you develop a sense of irony? It's quite…disturbing. You with a sense of humour is like me with a sense of…seriousness."

"Seriously, Damon," Stefan interrupted. "What's his name?"

"His name is Walter," Damon replied, starting the engine up. "Walter Moore. He was turned around the start of the 19th century, so he has a good fifty, sixty years knowledge ahead of us. He also knows a little something about sibling rivalry, hence the reason I sort of…bonded with him." He flashed Stefan a cheeky grin. "I didn't reveal any deep dark secrets, Stefan, so reign in those frown lines. I just found someone who, it seemed, was more willing to listen to me than my own brother."

Stefan didn't respond. He felt momentarily guilty, remembering that the monster his brother had become – he particularly wanted to emphasis the word _had_, because, thanks to Elena, it seemed the more humane side to Damon was being drawn out – was his fault. He had to live with that guilt every single day, which probably wasn't something which went unnoticed by his brother, who used it to torment him wherever possible.

"Well, at least you're honest," he remarked lightly.

"As soon as we get Elena back, I'll drink to that," Damon responded, smiling at his brother, in a way which threw them both off guard.

Damon shook his head, feeling perturbed by the fact he had momentarily dropped his guard for someone other than Elena.

"I'm sorry," he said, his trademark smirk back on display. "Did I just behave out of character? Oops. My bad."

"Believe it or not, Damon, I'm not your enemy," Stefan remarked dryly. "Maybe if we stopped this childish bickering we could actually accomplish something. The fact that you've saved my life numerous times shows that deep down you do care."

"It could've been because of Elena," Damon suggested.

"Maybe deep, deep, deep down," Stefan conceded. "Either way, you're confessing to something. You're either saying you do care about me, or you care about Elena."

And by Damon's flummoxed expression, he knew he'd got him. Either that, or Damon had just been completely rendered speechless.

Either way, he enjoyed his small victory, at least until he remembered the reason they were out here in the first place.

* * *

"Jeremy? Where are you going?"

Jeremy stopped by the door, turning around sheepishly to catch Alaric and Jenna staring at him, both wearing matching disapproving expressions.

"I thought we were past all this sneaking out business?" Jenna demanded.

"I've gotta…go see Tyler," he quickly lied, thinking on his feet.

His answer completely took Jenna off guard.

"Unless I'm getting confused, I thought you two were enemies?" she asked, looking to Alaric for help.

He gave her a _search-me_ type of look, and she sighed with faint exasperation.

"We were," Jeremy clarified. "But the whole Sarah thing really shook him up. I gotta go see if he's ok. I'll be back in an hour, Jenna."

He gave Alaric a meaningful look, trying to convey to him silently that it was about Elena. Luckily, the guy wasn't stupid – his eyes widened fractionally with concern and then he nodded, moving his head infinitesimally in Jenna's direction as a sign of his agreement to stall her for as long as he could. Jeremy lifted his lips into the faintest trace of a smile, before turning his attention to Jenna.

"Alright, but make sure you do get back. Bonnie said Elena's at hers so you're the only ragamuffin I have to worry about," she said, her lips turning into a teasing smile.

"Ragamuffin?" he quipped. "You've got some time machine you ain't showing me, Jenna?"

She shook her head as he dodged her mock evil glare, walking out of the door and down the street to where Bonnie was parked. He opened the door and sat himself inside, smiling tensely at a clearly nervous Bonnie.

"I hate lying to her," Jeremy admitted.

"It's necessary," Bonnie reassured him. "The less she knows about what's really going on, the better. Besides, if anyone can help, Lucy can. I did some digging and it turns out one of her ancestors knew Emily. They knew Katherine as well."

"Yeah? So?"

"I figure that somewhere along the way Emily and her ancestor must've exchanged some information bout these so-called Originals. I mean, Emily was Katherine's handmaid. She must've told her _something._"

Jeremy nodded, admitting it was definitely a possibility.

"What if this is another dead end though? What if she refuses to help?" he asked her quietly.

"She won't," Bonnie replied confidently, starting the engine.

"How can you be so sure?" Jeremy demanded.

"She's a Bennett," Bonnie responded. "We always help each other out. Grams taught me that."

Her smile dropped at the mention of her grandmother, though she put on a brave face when Jeremy proceeded to ask her if she was ok. The truth was this whole witch thing was a whole lot better when her Grams was here. Without her, she was being forced into a lot of stuff she'd rather have just let be. The only reason she was continuing to acknowledge the supernatural and what she really was, was Elena, whose absence right now was making her lose all the confidence she'd gained by standing up to assholes like Damon. She was back to that terrified girl in the woods, who didn't have a clue what the future would hold.

The only one who was making her feel better was the last person she thought she'd be hanging around – Elena's brother, Jeremy. He knew loss, knew what it felt like to have your world one way one moment, then for it shift and completely rearrange before your eyes. She cherished this connection with him, however strange it might've seemed, because he was the only one who really understood what it truly was like to be alone.

"When did you grow up?" she asked softly, smiling in his direction. "This mature, sweeter guy is not anything like the guy I used to know."

He smiled at her, slightly embarrassed by her comment, realizing for the first time they were crossing a line which, once crossed, meant they couldn't turn back.

"For what it's worth, Jeremy," she added. "Your parents would've been proud of you. And we will get Elena back, I promise."

The remark, had it been uttered by anyone else, would've sounded condescending, or, rather, patronizing, but, from her, it was a compliment. He wished he could've said something just as complimentary back, but the words became lodged in his throat.

He knew tonight should've been about finding Elena, should've been about getting her back, but he found himself being distracted by one Bonnie Bennett.

She was wondering when he'd grown up – he was wondering why he was suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.

**A/n: Thanks for your reviews! Wow, you guys are amazing. I will be introducing new characters in due course but for now keep reading and reviewing. Hope you liked the Stefan/Damon moments here because they need bonding moments like this! **


	3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ominous

_Chapter 3: The Good, the Bad, and the Ominous__

* * *

_

She awoke when she felt the car shudder to a stop. Her eyes slowly opened; her heart in her mouth; her entire body frozen to the spot.

"Morning," her captor announced, smiling broadly at her.

Elena pushed her body up so that she could at least see where she was, although every instinct in her body was telling her to stay low, so that no one could see her and be dragged in this mess. The last thing she wanted was to endanger more people.

She was surprised when he removed her gag, and her whole body screamed at her to make some sort of noise to attract attention which, of course, conflicted with her desire to keep the remaining citizens of Mystic Falls safe. Although, wasn't that all she did these days, protecting everyone she loved without them even knowing?

"There's a man here," Elijah told her. "He's an old friend, who's agreeing to keep an eye on you until I get back from my little errand. Don't worry – we won't be staying here long. I have no interest in your friends." He locked eyes on her before she could pull her gaze away. "You will not make a sound, and you will not attempt to escape. You will behave for my friend, understand?"

"Yes, I understand," she replied monotonously.

_No. I don't understand. I don't understand any of this. _

"Good."

_I want to go home. I want to go back to a time when none of this was ever real. Not to me, anyway._

Elijah proceeded to pull her out of the car, dragging her through an area of the woods she was vaguely familiar with but couldn't quite place. She stumbled a few times – her head felt extremely heavy, not to mention the fact her arms and legs had been tied for so long they'd gone a little bit numb. Her captor had no interest in treating her kindly, however, so she had to ignore the pain as best she could.

Then, as she was being dragged into the woods, she came across a familiar, heart wrenching sight.

Wicker Bridge – the place her parents had died.

She saw the whole thing in her mind as if it were only yesterday. She could still remember the screech as the car lost control and the sickening crunch as the car collided with the bridge and went swerving into the icy depths of the gushing river below. She remembered blacking out, only to wake up to a sea of worried and perplexed faces. She remembered asking everyone where her parents where, not understanding when they told her they were gone…

Tears ran down her face, despite herself. It didn't matter what had happened since then; it didn't matter that she'd fallen in love, found out she'd been adopted, and met her remorseless bitch of a mother, who just happened to be a vampire – the memory of that night still _hurt._ Part of her wished that all of this had been a dream, a dream that she could wake up from to the sounds of her nagging alarm clock with the smell of her mother's famous pancakes drifting up the stairs. She missed all that.

But, then again, so much had happened that she wouldn't have changed for the world. Like the fact that she'd met a guy – ok, a _vampire_ – who seemed to have his own baggage, his own family problems, and had fallen in love, though her heart had forbidden her from ever having happiness again. It'd defied the odds, and it was a nice idea that this eternal misery which swept over her, which she carefully hid away from everyone else, could defy the odds too, and leave her forever.

Being here, where they'd died, reminded her of how that grief still remained with her, that it was a part of her still. She couldn't deny the moments of genuine happiness she'd had, because it would've been cruel and selfish to pretend her life had gone completely downhill since her parents had died, but she couldn't quite move on, not until her life was back on track.

She must've drifted off into her own thoughts, because the next thing she knew she was being pushed forwards towards a small, abandoned house in the middle of the woods. She briefly wondered if Stefan or Damon had ever come across it, although it was a perfect place for people to hide out, judging by the fact it looked disused and completely empty. The windows bore large cracks in them, with the odd one boarded up, as if some half hearted builder had attempted to renovate it but had given up.

It reminded her of the old boarding house, in a strange way. She didn't know whether this was because it looked like it had stepped straight out of the pages of a history book, or whether because it housed the supernatural, but she half hoped, knowing it was just a delusional fantasy of her mind's, that Stefan and Damon would be around here, or at least _someone._

Elena found herself being pushed forwards, a little gasp of pain escaping her mouth as Elijah's hand made contact with her still sore wounds. She wanted to make some sort of noise to alert any passersby that she was here but she couldn't. Being compelled, she'd quickly learned, locked away your free will, and she hated the restraint of it. She knew Stefan and Damon had never compelled her – she would've remembered this feeling, this frustration, if nothing else. It also reminded of what Jeremy had said; that the act of compulsion erased the memory, not your feelings.

Elijah suddenly stopped, staring into her eyes again, something she was quickly becoming used to. She vainly tried to look away but he held her there, his eyes as strong as he was.

"You will stay here until I get back, understand?" he affirmed, his ice cold gaze making her shudder.

"I understand."

It was as if the fact she was a doppelganger had created a sense of wariness of her, of her reliability or, to be precise, the reliability of compulsion, which made her realize Katherine's habit of betraying people stretched further back into the vaults of history than she realized.

The door of the house suddenly opened, and Elena suddenly heard the shuffling footsteps of another person. Her heart tightened with worry and dread, although she didn't hold those feelings for herself. If there was another vampire here, his only food source was within Mystic Falls, and she could only pray that Jenna, Jeremy and all of her friends were alright.

"Eleazar," Elijah greeted him.

Elena saw the figure shuffle closer so that the daylight absorbed him. In terms of human years, he looked like he was in his late forties. His hair was a deep chestnut brown in colour and his eyes, which were almost buried in his thick eyebrows that they resembled slits more than eyes, were a deep bottle green in colour. He looked harmless, like a curious stranger than anything else, but she knew better than to go by appearances. Meeting the Salvatores had taught her that particular lesson, a lesson she was still, in some ways, smarming from.

"Elijah," the other man greeted him, equally as stiff, equally as cold as him. "I had hoped I'd seen the last of you in 1892."

"What can I say?" Elijah pulled his lips into the closes thing to a smile he could manage. "I guess I'm not a one-time visit kind of guy."

"So I see," Eleazar replied coolly, his eyes turning on Elena.

She waited to hear the overstated fact that she looked like Katherine Pierce, that the resemblance was uncanny. It never came. There was a mere hint of curiosity in Eleazar's eyes, but if he thought the resemblance between her and Katherine was strange, he never said it.

"How long do you need me to look after her for? I have other things to do," Eleazar enquired, his eyes fixed upon Elena's.

"Just for an hour or so," Elijah replied coolly. "She won't be much trouble, I promise."

"Then, will you leave me alone? Grant an old vampire his freedom?" Eleazar asked, his voice resembling more of a cough than anything else.

"Absolutely – I am a man of my word."

Elijah turned to leave, but briefly hesitated, no doubt wondering whether extra compulsion was needed, but then decided against it. He was out of the door and out of her life for the moment, leaving her no other choice but to stay inside here. Her entire mind screamed at her to run, run before anything else happened, but she couldn't, that was the frustrating thing.

For the first time, she could completely empathise with her brother who, it seemed, hadn't wanted to forget, although he'd been in so much pain and torment over what had happened to Vicki, but the power of compulsion was strong. Just not strong enough to wash away the deeper emotions, the emotions even she couldn't tell he was feeling because he'd been hiding them for so long.

She folded her arms and tried to hide the rising nausea in her stomach. As much as she hated to feel so defeated, she couldn't see how she was going to get her way out of this alive.

* * *

Stefan was irritated to the point of strangling someone. He didn't know whether it was because he was tired, or whether it was because they were no closer to finding Elena than when they'd started, or maybe – just maybe – it was because Damon had _Highway to Hell_ on full blast on his radio.

"You wanna turn that down?" he yelled, irritated.

"What?" Damon yelled back, feigning deafness.

Stefan slammed his fist against the radio, breaking it, and taking a brief moment to enjoy the complete silence that filled the car after he had done so.

"Do you have to be a buzzkill _everywhere_ we go?" Damon asked sourly. "Is there some sort of law which stops us having a bit of music on when on a life or death mission?"

"There is when it comes to Elena," Stefan snapped. "We need to be _focusing_, Damon, not listening to music."

"Ok, what is this really about?" Damon demanded. "Come on, spit it out. Purge. What's on your mind?"

Stefan scowled out of the window, realizing killing his brother wouldn't solve anything, although it would cure his foul mood. He was constantly on edge, missing Elena like crazy, unable to think about anything else but rescuing her. He was frustrated that Damon could find humour out of a situation like this, not to mention annoyed that they were making no progress.

"Fine – keep up the tortured soul pretence," Damon replied indifferently. "I thought you were into these road trip bonding things."

Stefan didn't reply; sometimes it unnerved him how much Damon could see into his soul. Once upon a time, he would have used what he saw to destroy him, torture him; now, the fact that Damon had changed didn't ease his mind, because he had no idea what his brother was up to anymore. At least when he'd been a monster, he'd known his only aim was to destroy his life, taking Mystic Falls and its hapless citizens down with it, although he couldn't exactly say he wasn't glad that that part of Damon seemed to have been vanquished.

"It's the elephant in the room…well, car…isn't it?" Damon guessed, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "God, Stefan, can you not be all _brooding_ and…and… _deep_ for once in your life? It's making me all depressed."

Stefan actually cracked a smile at that.

"Seriously, bro, and you call _me_ unfocused." Damon smirked at him. "Look – we've reached Vancouver. You can relax."

He gestured to the sign which said 'Welcome to Vancouver' and Stefan felt himself infinitesimally unclench. This was by no means a cue for them to relax, because he had the horrible feeling they were in the entirely wrong place, but it was progress, at least.

"Now, where to start?" he mused aloud.

"We check out the oldest buildings," Damon jumped in. "Vampires are naturally drawn to ancient things, ancient buildings."

"Who knows how old these Originals are though?" Stefan objected. "I mean whoever they are, they've had time to adjust, to modernise."

"I'm not saying it's _right_, Stefan, I'm saying it's a start," Damon returned, looking faintly irritated. "In some ways, Canada is the perfect place for them to hide. You never associate the supernatural with _Canada._" His lip curled in a sneer at the name.

Stefan didn't miss the gesture, and consequently began to wonder if there was something Damon wasn't telling him. But he didn't want to pry, or intrude, especially since they'd reached a truce, of sorts, which he didn't want to break.

"It's just not a good enough lead," he said, with a forlorn gaze out of the window.

"Is anything a good enough lead when it comes to Elena?" Damon grumbled. "When will you think about _me_, Stefan?"

They both laughed, despite the obvious tension there was in the car between the two brothers, tension which stretched way down the timeline.

"Oh I do," Stefan replied, turning serious. "I just…"

"Speculate about me and Elena," Damon guessed, not even bothering to make it a question when they both knew the truth. "Come on, Stefan. Don't make predictability your bitch."

Stefan rolled his eyes, used to Damon's sense of humour by now. Truthfully, it was the only thing which was stopping him from going insane with worry. When Jeremy had come up to him, telling him Elena hadn't slept in her bed, his mind had gone into extreme paranoia mode, convinced without a doubt that Katherine was behind it. And he hadn't missed Damon's worry when he'd told him she was missing.

Yes, he couldn't exactly say he wasn't jealous. He knew there'd been a bond between them he couldn't control and, pathetic as it sounded, he'd felt relieved when Damon had screwed that up so that Elena ended up hating him. _That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan, not the end of one,_ Katherine's cruel voice reminded him, causing him to scrunch his eyes up to block _those_ images.

They spent most of the remaining journey in silence, one brother deep in thought, the other trying to fight his heart with all his might, reciting silently to himself, _you don't love her, you don't love her,_ over and over, even though he was pretty sure he was.

He was in love with his brother's girlfriend.

And he was sure he knew from the history books how this was going to end for him – badly.

* * *

She folded her arms stiffly, bursting to escape but unable to. Without her vervain necklace, she felt extremely vulnerable and frightened, though she hid it under a mask of indifference.

Her current captor displayed little or no interest in her. He mostly shuffled in and out of the room, muttering darkly underneath his breath, often casting her the odd dirty look, as if it were _her_ fault he was stuck on babysitting duty. She returned the look, utterly fed up of being in these situations where she was in dire need of rescue. All her attempts at rescuing people often ended up backfiring on her, Jeremy being the prime example.

"You can sit down you know," Eleazar barked at her, when he next emerged.

"I'm fine," she replied stiffly, finding standing helped ease her mind.

Eleazar shuffled back into the room, his eyes fixed on hers, and elected to sit down. His expression was one of indifference, disinterest, even, but his eyes conveyed the faintest traces of curiosity.

"So…" he began, eyeing her with heavy dislike. "You're Elijah's little pet, are you?"

"No," she replied curtly. "My name is Elena Gilbert. I am not a pet to anyone."

His scowl deepened at her response, as if he'd expected her to have no opinion of her own. _Well,_ she thought, _the dislike is mutual._

Reluctantly, she sat down, but only as a matter of principle. She folded her arms, and glared wordlessly across the room, as if her hatred for her situation couldn't be summed up in any amount of words. It was frustrating beyond words that she was in Mystic Falls, yet unable to do anything.

"How long have you been a vampire?" she couldn't resist asking, if just to break the unbearable silence that had fallen.

"Far longer than you have walked this earth," Eleazar retorted. "Since 1565," he begrudgingly added.

Elena nodded, though she was stunned by the answer. Really, compared to him, Damon and Stefan were just _children_, an observation which nearly caused a smile to emerge across her face.

"You're Katerina's doppelganger," Eleazar stated, losing the scowl as he appraised her. "I notice you have her spark, her spirit…"

"Don't you dare compare me to _her!_" Elena suddenly exploded. "I am _nothing_ like her, do you understand me?"

"And there it is," Eleazar chuckled, losing the unfriendly expression at once. "My dear child, it's no insult that I compare you to Katerina. If you have her flare, her spirit, I sense you will survive. Katerina did what none of us could do – she escaped Klaus."

"Who is he?" Elena enquired, curious.

Eleazar suddenly looked grave, and that frightened her beyond anything she'd encountered during her kidnapping ordeal. She thought Elijah was bad, yet Klaus seemed to be portrayed as something much, much worse.

"He's an extremely old, extremely cunning and powerful vampire," he said solemnly. "How Katerina escaped – Well, she took the easy way out, I guess."

"What easy way out?" Elena asked, although she could guess.

"The same one I guess you'll take," Eleazar replied, his solemn eyes on hers. "She became a vampire. Doppelganger's no use to Klaus if they're a vampire. Just something to consider, kid."

Elena felt like her stomach had become a bottomless pit. She'd never considered the idea of turning, even though she'd been with Stefan. So many things had happened which had taken priority in her mind, so she'd had no _time_ to consider it. She couldn't do it to herself – it was basically suicide, swapping an eternity of sleep with an eternity of thirst. No matter how much she tolerated vampires – meaning Stefan and, to an extent, Damon – she could never imagine being one.

"S'never crossed your mind, has it?" Eleazar observed.

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body, feeling unbelievably frightened to think that was what her future held. It held death no matter which way you looked at it.

"Is Elijah taking me to him?" she asked quietly.

"Eventually. For now, he just plans to keep you safe. I imagine he'll take you up to Vancouver, to where _she_ lives."

"She?"

"Klaus' companion," Eleazar replied quietly. "S'all I know, kid."

Elena fell silent, half wishing the ground would just swallow her up there and then. If that was her path, her _destiny_, she wanted no part in it. All she wanted was a bit of normality in life that was all. She was beginning to think that was nothing more than a pipe dream, better suited for someone else.

And, even though the thought saddened her, she knew this would all have been marginally better if her parents had been alive.

"Let me go," she said suddenly, staring him in the face. "Please. He's compelled me not to escape but you can change it. You can compel me to escape."

"Wish I could," Eleazar sighed. "But this here's my one shot at freedom, to stop hiding and cowering like the old fool I am. Elijah, back in the day, got me out of a tight scrape and I repaid him by betraying him. Long story short, he's haunted my every step, reminding me he can find me at any time and kill me. This here is my chance to redeem myself, to start over."

"Yeah, I'm getting that a lot," she muttered darkly, wondering if she had any other role in life other than as a bargaining chip.

She walked over to the window, gazing out at it, at a clearly visible Wicker Bridge, her heart folding over with pain at the mere sight of it. It didn't get any easier, she was realizing, just more painful as each day crawled by. True, as time went on their loss didn't occupy as much of her mind as it'd used to, but that didn't mean it wasn't there, all the same.

"What is it about breaking the curse?" she lashed out, looking frustrated. "Why can't things stay as they are?"

"Between you and me, not everyone is comfortable with the idea," Eleazar, spoke, gazing into the fireplace, his mind clearly elsewhere. "Staying in the shadows of the night certainly has its advantages. There are those that want to remain hidden away. There are those who see daylight as being the true curse, not being restricted from it. You've just never seen them."

Elena stared at him, quietly mulling over his words. Sometimes it was so easy to see the world in black and white, completely missing the shades of grey in between. In simpler terms, she was only used to Damon and Stefan being the good vampires, not understanding – or rather, not wanting to understand – that there were others out there. Lexie had been the exception to the rule, and she'd barely known her long enough to keep that impression locked inside her memory.

"Why would daylight be seen as a curse though?" she asked.

"To those who've held onto their humanity long enough, they'd rather not be reminded of what they are. Even though they appear normal and human, the sun reminds them of what they'll never be, what they'll never have."

She had to concede, albeit reluctantly, that that was a possibility. Surely Stefan wasn't the only who rejected the concept of what he was, even though he could never truly show it because giving up blood of any sort would be fatal. Surely it wasn't impossible to dream up a team of vampires who were on their side, who believed in protecting humans, and humanity, rather than bent on destroying it.

The concept was crazy, even for her, she could admit. But it was the only thought which fed her hope right now.

* * *

The two teenagers approached the house warily, neither of them sure of what to expect from this little visit. Some sort of clue, maybe, in defeating Katherine and whoever was after her? It would've been a start, at least.

"What are we going to say exactly?" Jeremy asked, staring at the door as if it were Death. "What if she turns down our help?"

"She won't," Bonnie assured him, her voice practically effervescing confidence. "Like I told you, we Bennett witches stick together. It's sort of…in our blood. We're one big family."

"If you've got them, why do you do this whole witch thing alone?" Jeremy demanded.

"Jeremy…"

"If you've got them, why do you make out like you're all on your own?" he asked, his tone one of anger.

"Because I am," she hissed, her eyes alight with anger. "I'm only _just_ discovering what I can do and that it can kill me! And believe it or not, witches are hard to come by, even harder to just _find_ out of the blue. You're a different kind of alone, Jeremy. You've lost a lot of people you love, I get it, I really do, but don't mistake being alone for being lonely."

She marched up to the doorway, her irritation fuelling her confidence. Raising her hand, she knocked twice on the door, her anxiety, though she did her best to hide it, bubbling over inside her heart.

The door opened and Lucy was there, glancing warily out into the darkness.

"Lucy?" Bonnie ventured bravely. "It's me… Bonnie."

"Bonnie Bennett," Lucy guessed, smiling widely. "I knew our paths would cross again. It's good to see you again, hon. Come in, come in…"

She gestured for Bonnie and Jeremy to come inside, which they did willingly, their nerves stretched to breaking point.

"I wish it were under better circumstances that I came here," Bonnie started, barely hiding her incredulity at the house.

It, for the most part, seemed normal, although the odd painting or piece of décor caught her eye. It didn't look like a witch's abode, although she supposed blending in was all part of the disguise. The real charm about it was the fact the normal hid the abnormal.

Jeremy barely hid his disappointment at the house's resemblance to his own. In certain ways, Bonnie reflected, he could be a little bit childish, always expecting a dramatic flair to the supernatural. His lack of understanding was as endearing as it was frustrating. Without his complete understanding, he could never understand what it truly was like for her.

"I know something troubles you," Lucy replied, her smile fading. "I've felt it for a while."

"You have?" Bonnie was incredulous.

"We're family, remember?" Lucy reminded her. "We can sense when someone we care about, or share a bond with, is troubled. Here, take a seat."

Bonnie and Jeremy sat down, facing her.

"This is Jeremy Gilbert," Bonnie introduced. "He's my best friend's brother."

The emphasis on the latter half of the sentence was felt by both, although they both felt unhappy about it, as though it were an unalterable fact of life which dictated their decisions, somehow.

"Pleased to meet you, hon," Lucy said, smiling charmingly. "Now, I sense you need my expertise in something, hence the late night visit."

"My best friend Elena was kidnapped last night," Bonnie said, her voice trembling as she remembered that fact. "Stefan and Damon went after her, but we think that her being Katherine's doppelganger is something to do with being kidnapped. But, honestly, there's not a lot we can do unless we have further information." She hesitated. "I thought you could help with that."

Lucy swirled her glass around, looking thoughtful but thankfully not dismissive. Bonnie had to admit it was nice unburdening her problems on someone she could trust. Lately, not many people had given her a reason to trust them, Elena included, which immediately made her feel guilty for ever doubting her.

"You want to know about the Originals," Lucy eventually stated. "I know, before you ask, because I know the whole lore on the Petrova Doppelgangers. My ma made me cover all the basics when I was preparing to embrace who I was." She smiled wryly. "Katherine was herself a Petrova Doppelganger, you know."

"She was?" Jeremy butted in, looking surprised. "So why aren't people after _her?_"

"Because she's a vampire, sweetie," Lucy replied, staring at him. "Vampire blood offers nothing to him."

"Him?" Bonnie had picked up the key word.

Lucy sighed and picked herself up, wandering out of the room for a brief second. She returned with a heavy book and showed them a picture of a dark eyed figure, whose face looked dangerously calm, like he was anticipating a storm.

"Klaus," she said stonily. "Oh, just because we witches stick to what we know doesn't mean we're unaware of the various vampire myths and legends. But it's not just happenchance we know about Klaus. As well as being one of the most hated and feared of the Originals, he is also the most paranoid. Anything that threatens him, no matter how great or small, he eliminates it. You ever tried the aneurism thing?" she asked as a side note.

"Yeah," Bonnie said, concealing a tiny smirk as she remembered watching that smartass Damon crumble before her.

"It's great, isn't it?" Lucy said, with a laugh. "Easiest spell to do. Well, one witch unfortunate to cross paths with him – we're talking centuries and centuries ago here – used that spell on him and, since then, he's been wary of witches. Oh, he doesn't kill them, if that's what you're thinking," she added, noticing Bonnie's horrified look. "He knows he's not strong enough to. But you need to know something."

"What?" Bonnie and Jeremy asked as one.

Lucy stared at them, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as if she'd worked out their fragmented and complicated relationship, but continued with what she was saying, dismissing the thought as soon as it had come to her.

"Your friend's kidnapping may just be the start in a chain of events which will test your loyalty to the ground," she said. "I know this sounds like a trailer to the most unbelievably cliché action-thriller ever, but it's true. If one of the Originals has got his hands on a human Petrova Doppelganger, it'll be just the start."

"The start of what?" Jeremy voiced what they both were thinking.

"War," Lucy said simply.

Bonnie and Jeremy exchanged a fearful look. On no level had they expected this. Elena's kidnapping hadn't been random, they'd all known that, but to say it was the trigger to a war set up by a deranged but extremely experienced vampire was a tad on the overdramatic side of things.

But, to examine the other side of the coin, and to quote Damon, to ignore the warning would've been extremely stupid. They'd come here to get this kind of information and they'd got it…as well as a humongous dosage of fear into the bargain.

* * *

**A/n: So I think last episode shot my 'Elijah is evil' theory to sunshine. But I'm going to go against the grain and say that he's still EVIL and that he LIES lol, just because I'm stubborn as hell. Alternatively, I can twist the story so it runs with the canon plot…but where's the fun in that? :P I know this seems a bit generalized at the mo, but Delena is on the horizon! Thanks for the fantastic reviews! Keep 'em up! Hope you liked new character number one, Eleazar. He was instrumental in helping Elena realize there are other good vampires out there, and more will be revealed in future chapters! **

Next chapter – Jeremy fills Stefan in on the conversation, Elijah returns with another prisoner, and there's bonding between two characters that rarely interact on screen!


	4. Chain Reaction

Chapter 4: Chain Reaction

* * *

Still reeling from what he'd heard, Jeremy stood outside Lucy's house, his hand trembling as he tried to search for Stefan's number to dial him. He'd underestimated – quite badly – how deep the danger surrounding Mystic Falls went. And Elena was right in the middle, it seemed.

For a brief moment, he felt like that scared little boy again, the one who'd once cried so hard because he thought he'd dropped his big sister down the well. Whilst that had turned out to be a cruel prank on her behalf, back in the days when the worst they'd ever been to each other was hostile in the brother/sister sense, that sense of fear and horror still had this awful habit of sneaking up to him, turning his stomach into the same seemingly bottomless pit he'd stared down into, hoping for some sort of sign that she was still alive.

When his fingers had stopped shaking, he located Stefan's number and rang it, a part of him hoping he didn't answer meaning he'd found Elena and was spending time rescuing her than answering her phone.

_"Jeremy? Are you ok? What's happening?"_

Jeremy breathed in deeply, trying to find the right words so that he didn't resemble a blathering idiot who'd let fear dominate him. He'd finally been accepted as a source of help by Damon and Stefan and wasn't about to let them down. Not when Damon would be so arrogantly smug about it if he did, and Stefan, unbearable disappointed.

"Me and Bonnie went to Lucy's house," he began.

_"Who?" _

"The witch who was helping Katherine at the Masquerade Ball," Jeremy clarified. "We figured she could help, give us more information on these Originals and what they really want."

_"We know what they want," _Stefan interrupted, sounding impatient. _"To break the Sun and the Moon curse." _

"That's a part of it, yes," Jeremy confirmed, "but the not whole reason. See, it turns out that Klaus wants to break the curse not just because he wants vampires to walk around in the daylight, but because he wants to ignite a war."

_"A war?" _Stefan sounded horrified. _"What war?"_

"Between the supernatural elements," Jeremy said resignedly. "He wants anything which could pose as a threat to him to be eliminated. That includes witches, werewolves - the whole shebang."

_Shebang? _He winced. What a moment for that word to make its debut.

_"And Elena…Her death will be the trigger of it?"_

Jeremy could hear the pain in Stefan's voice and knew he was struggling with these past few days' events. He knew he'd give anything to have her back and safe, even if it meant they couldn't be together anymore.

"Apparently, he'll take enormous pleasure from her death," he said bitterly. "The Petrova line, according to Lucy, has caused him nothing but irritation for centuries. He wants to be the one to end the line himself."

_"He'll have to get through us first," _Stefan vowed, his voice curling into a deep growl towards the end.

"Definitely," Jeremy agreed. "Where are you guys, anyway?"

_"Vancouver," _Stefan replied. _"We have no idea where to start looking for. Damon suggested trying some of the old buildings. Can you search for them and send me the results?"_

"I can do you one better," Jeremy replied. "Lucy's got maps from everywhere, including one of Canada. She's agreed to do another location spell for us, so we can get a general idea of where she is."

_"Brilliant. Do that. We'll keep searching around while you do that."_

They disconnected at the same time, both of them probably wearing the same sort of half frightened, half determined expression. Jeremy glanced into the night, his mind reflecting over all the challenges and fights they'd endured before. It was strange how in a single night they all suddenly seemed rather pathetic, almost laughable really.

He walked back into the house, noticing how Lucy and Bonnie seemed to be almost one as they prepared the room to do the spell. Lucy had already located the map, and was spreading it across the floor, her expression grim. Bonnie had located a small knife from the kitchen and was looking apologetic as she approached him.

"I'm sorry for having to do this to you twice," she said, chuckling weakly.

"It's fine," he said dismissively. "It's for Elena."

Their eyes locked at the mention of her name, both of them united in this fear, this terror, which they hoped to vanquish, overcome, for the sake of Elena. She'd stumbled onto the supernatural first, they remembered, and had endured more trials, more dangers, than they had. If she could be brave in the face of mortal danger, so could they.

Bonnie took his hand, a shiver of pleasure running through both of their bodies although they made sure to hide it, and ran the blade along his flesh, drawing blood. Like before, he turned his hand downwards, allowing the blood to drip down onto the map in three small droplets.

Lucy and Bonnie joined hands, after the latter remembered this spell was a particularly exhausting one, and started to mutter the spell, their eyes closed tightly for the purposes of sheer concentration. Jeremy gazed intently at the map, hoping against hope this would work again.

Once the spell was complete, three heads lowered themselves towards the map, three sets of eyes fixated on the blood which was starting to move…

…In the wrong direction.

The thin trail of blood completely veered away from Vancouver, heading in the opposite direction completely. Confused, they followed it as it crawled towards the edge of the map and then stopped.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked. "Did the spell…Did the spell even work?"

"No," Lucy said, frowning. "But I think you got some bad info."

"What do you mean?"

"Looks like your girl's not in Canada anymore," Lucy replied. "If she was even there to begin with."

Bonnie's eyes lifted to meet Jeremy's and they could see in each other's eyes that they were feeling the exact same blend of emotions – fear, horror, surprise, confusion and even more fear. They were both convinced Stefan wouldn't have lied about her location, so he must've been the one to receive the bad info? This led them to another crucial question: where did they get the idea she was in Canada from?

And, just as seriously, if Elena wasn't in Canada, as it was widely believed, where was she?

* * *

Elena remained glued to the window for the duration of the hour, her entire physical being aching to run away but unable to. The frustration of not being able to do so meant she rarely spoke. Her irritation would show if she did, and Eleazar, even though he was no better than the two who'd kidnapped her in the first place, didn't really deserve to have a month's worth of rants launched at him.

"Storm's coming," Eleazar quietly noted as he stood next to her.

"How can you tell?" she asked numbly, not really sure how to act anymore.

"Just can," he said, shuffling off. "After centuries on this earth, you get to the point where you recognize the signs before there are any."

She sighed heavily, peeling herself away and sitting back down in the chair, curling up in it like she'd done when she was a little girl. It didn't really achieve anything, just gave her that extra bit of comfort and the false hope that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out ok.

"Want something to eat?" Eleazar offered.

"No, thank you," she declined, politely.

"Something to drink, maybe?"

"No."

Eleazar frowned. "Well, you've changed your tune," he muttered. "You went from being a wild cat, to a miserable one. Try having a little optimism, kid."

"Is that what you did?" Elena fired at him. "Would you call spending most of your existence in the shadows _having optimism?_"

"It was self-preservation," he said defensively. "Something you seemed to have given up on."

"There's not much you can do when you've been compelled to stay," was Elena's somewhat snappy response.

She huffed and curled up into the armchair further, a few self-pitiful tears crawling down her face. She didn't want to die. There, that was the naked truth. Dying for someone else, she could understand, but this kind of sacrifice wasn't something she could wrap her head around. But what could you do when the most powerful and evil vampire on earth wanted you dead?

"I wish I could help," Eleazar said gently, seeing the poor girl's anguish. "I really do. Believe me, if it weren't for this stupid debt hanging around my neck, I'd set you free and to hell with the consequences."

"Either way you'd end up running," Elena said softly. "Better me than you."

Eleazar froze, suddenly studying her carefully, a wide, surprised smile emerging on his face.

"What?" she asked, looking nervous. "You're not…thirsty, are you?"

"God, no," he chuckled. "I stick to an animal blood diet. I was just musing over your words. Katherine said something of a sort when I came across her once." He frowned. "I sometimes wonder what would've become of her had she not the selfish streak in her that she had."

"You met Katherine?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yes. She was the reason why Elijah came after me." Eleazar's eyes misted over as he recalled that horrific night. "I was on Elijah's side, at the time, trying to live my life when I came across her. This was about in 1864, if I've got my dates right…"

Elena froze, knowing perfectly well the significance of that date. Intrigued, she sat up, determined to learn as much about Katherine as she could. What was the use of being her doppelganger if she didn't even try at managing that?

"She was obviously on the run," Eleazar continued. "I offered her this house for the night, not realizing in providing shelter for her, I would be considered on her 'side', as it were. I spoke to one of my oldest and dearest of friends, who told me what would happen to anyone associated with her, and, fearing for my life, I turned her away. Before doing so, I asked to keep this meeting between us private, and she merely said that if I got caught it was my own fault. 'Better you than me,' I believe her remark was." He shook his head with disgust. "What a vile girl."

"Hear, hear," Elena remarked dryly.

"As her doppelganger, I imagine she hasn't made life too easy for _you_," Eleazar said, turning to her.

"She made her presence known without showing herself, let's just leave it at that," Elena said shortly. She changed the subject. "What made you stick to an animal blood diet?" she asked with interest.

Immediately, she wished she hadn't asked.

Eleazar's face darkened dramatically and she could see the tinge of pain to his eyes. He gripped the nearest object – the lamp – so tightly that it broke in his hands.

"That bad, huh?" she asked softly.

"I was already on the run before Elijah showed up," he remarked quietly. "On the run from what I was. When I was turned, I was left in the dark. Not knowing what I even was at that stage, I found myself so… _hungry._ Nothing could satiate me, though. I just kept eating. I was sensitive to the light, in a way I hadn't been before. It wasn't as bad as when I actually turned, mind, but it was still bad. I was on edge all of the time and I felt so paranoid. All my senses were hyped up and I kept imagining danger where there was none…

"Then, later that night, my wife and daughter came home. I could hear their hearts beating and the blood pumping around their body. It just…sang to me. But I resisted. That is until my wife cut herself cooking dinner. I don't even remember what preceded that. I just remembered sinking my teeth into her and…and… _draining_ her dry." A few low dry sobs escaped his throat. "My daughter came running in and started screaming. She…I wanted to make her be quiet but couldn't. So I killed her too."

After finishing his dark story, Eleazar crossed to the other side of the room and threw a vase across the room, clearly still bitter about the entire experience.

"I'm so sorry," Elena whispered, moved to tears by his shocking story.

"So am I, kid," Eleazar murmured. "So am I." He turned to face her. "If you get the choice, don't pick this life, kid," he said, stone faced. "Immortality is the dream of lesser men. It's not as glamorous as the movies make it out to be."

She nodded numbly, not really attracted to the idea herself anyway. The idea that anyone could cling to the idea of immortality for a weak enough reason as being frightened of death, or because of love, astonished her.

They were interrupted with their conversation when Elijah barged into the door, carrying a large back over his shoulder which looked too suspicious to be anything other than a body. Elena rose to her feet, her features pinched with fear and hatred.

"Coulda knocked," Eleazar grumbled.

"There isn't enough time," Elijah snapped. "I've been informed there's a full moon in less than week and this is a newbie werewolf. This is a precarious situation." He looked slightly flummoxed by the fact his captive and the man he relied on to take charge of her seemed to be on friendly terms. "I need the girl."

"She's right here," Eleazar said. "And she has a name," he added, shooting Elena a quick reassuring smile.

"Yes, yes, yes," Elijah barked impatiently. "The fact is I have two of the three things Klaus specifically demanded me to get. The thing I am missing is the moonstone. I need the moonstone."

"I know where it is," Elena piped up, seeing a ray of hope before her.

Immediately, he was in front of her, scrutinising her for any trace of a lie.

"Where is it?" he demanded, frustrated when she quickly turned her head away so his eyes couldn't lock on hers.

"It doesn't work like that," she said stubbornly. "Let Tyler Lockwood go."

"How did - ?"

She smiled smugly at him. "I know a lot more than you think," she said, still avoiding eye contact with him. "I know you need a werewolf to break the curse as well as me, and I know Tyler has the werewolf gene."

"Well aren't you the walking encyclopaedia of Mystic Falls?" Elijah muttered darkly. "Well then, you'll know I won't be giving him up, any more than I will be giving you up. So let's not waste anymore time."

He grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her towards him, locking his gaze on hers so that she was helpless to do anything else.

"Where is the moonstone?" he demanded.

"Underneath the church ruins," she answered monotonously, helplessly.

"What's it doing there?"

"It's with Katherine," was her flat reply.

The moment he released her, she deflated with defeat.

_What had she just done?_

* * *

"Brilliant. Do that. We'll search around for a bit while you do that."

Stefan snapped his phone shut, feeling more tense than he'd ever felt before in his entire life. Judging by Damon's silence, he'd heard the whole thing too.

"A war, huh?" Damon finally spoke.

"Looks like it," Stefan replied through gritted teeth.

"Great," Damon sighed. "As if we didn't have enough problems."

"What are we going to do?" Stefan asked. "I mean, it's one thing to charge in there and rescue Elena. It's another to try and stop a _war_ from happening. This is big, Damon. Bigger than Mystic Falls, bigger than us…"

"Yeah, I got that, Stefan," Damon replied tensely. "Guess we're just gonna have to tackle this thing one step at a time. We get Elena first. Without the doppelganger, they can't do much else."

Stefan disagreed but didn't see fit to argue. He would feel a whole lot happier about the situation when they got Elena back. They could re-evaluate when they got home and start thinking about how best to tackle Klaus, seemingly an undefeatable tyrant of the undead.

"Why now?" he had to wonder aloud. "I mean she's been in Mystic Falls all this time. How has no one stumbled across her before?"

"I'm going to say we're probably the guilty party in that one," Damon replied, his grip on the wheel tightening with the tension. "A lot of what we've done hasn't exactly been low key, has it? We've released a whole tomb of vampires into the open…"

"_You _did that," Stefan reminded him.

"Details, details," Damon said dismissively. "Actually if we're getting technical, Bonnie did that…" He saw Stefan's look and changed the subject. "Katherine's presence probably hasn't helped matters either. Besides," he added with a sly look. "Elena's not always been the…looker she does today. Believe it or not, Stefan, but she was once a child. Case in point, there's too much that goes on in the world for them to even consider looking in humble Mystic Falls. I doubt they even knew what to look for back in those good old yonder days."

He saw Stefan hesitate before reaching into his pocket and taking out his phone.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly.

"Trying Elena's phone," his brother replied, searching for her number.

"Yes, Stefan, because we're just _that_ lucky," Damon remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "We tried her phone a million times before we came out, remember?"

"I know."

Stefan tried all the same and wasn't too shocked when her phone went to voicemail. It'd been worth a shot, at least.

"I think you're wrong," he said suddenly.

"About what? I'm always right," Damon protested.

"I think they have been watching Mystic Falls," Stefan said slowly. "It's harboured the supernatural for a long time. How did Katherine get drawn here if it was otherwise? It's been home to werewolves, witches, vampires, warlocks, no doubt, and probably other creatures we've yet to discover."

"Your point is?"

"The timing is just too…coincidental," Stefan said with a frown. "I think whether we were here or not, they would've found her. They knew Katherine lived here a long time ago, they knew she'd found this place a kind of sanctuary, therefore it was only natural her doppelganger, if there ever was one, would end up in Mystic Falls too."

"You're just speculating because you've got nothing better to do," Damon said dismissively. "You've no proof."

"Her parents," Stefan said quietly.

"I'm sorry?" Damon repeated. "Her parents?"

"No one ever figured out what it was that made the car go off the bridge," Stefan said, following his own train of thought. "After I rescued Elena, I went back to look at the tracks. Something startled them off the bridge. Elena remains convinced it was her fault because she wanted them to turn back for something but I don't think it was. I think something made them crash on purpose."

"With Elena in the car?" Damon snorted. "Talk about plot holes."

"I think they were gonna take her there and then," Stefan replied. "I think they were going to get the car off the road and then, in the confusion, take her."

"I dunno, Stef," Damon said doubtfully. "It seems far-fetched, even for you."

"It makes sense," Stefan said confidently. "It must do."

"I wouldn't tell Elena," Damon said. "Whatever theories you have keep them to yourself. Poor girl's been through enough, don't you think?"

Stefan agreed, suddenly distracted by his phone going off. He opened up his message box and the new message contained five words which made his blood run cold and his heart stop.

_She's not in Canada, Stefan._

He read the message out aloud to Damon, who slammed his breaks so hard that the vehicle went skidding off the road, luckily coming to a somewhat noisy stop on the side of the road.

"Are you FRIGGIN' kidding me?" Damon cursed, smashing the window. "We're in the WRONG place?"

He then let rip a series of curse words which had Stefan wincing, before opening the door, grabbing the phone off of Stefan in the process, and dialling Jeremy's number in a mad frenzy.

"It's me," he snapped into the phone. "What are you - ?"

_"Damon, calm down," _Jeremy seemed to be instructing. _"We did another location spell to help you guys and Lucy seems to think she's not in Canada."_

Damon pinched his nostrils, looking like he was about to throw a major world class tantrum.

"Well, then, where is she?" he snapped. "Do another one!"

_"Dude, chill!" _Jeremy snapped back. _"We're doing our best, ok? Lucy's getting out another map, see if we can trace her on a more general one, but I've only got so much blood to spare, ok?" _

"What are we supposed to do then?" Damon demanded. "Sit on our asses and wait? I don't do waiting."

_"Head back to Mystic Falls, I suppose. We can all meet up and decide on a course of action." _

Damon swore loudly, obviously unimpressed with the plan.

_"What else can I say? Where did you get Canada from anyway?"_

"Her kidnappers," he admitted. "Well, not the ones who have her now. It was this dim-witted couple, obviously a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic."

_"And you believed them when they said she was there? Are you sure YOU'RE not the insane ones?"_

Damon hated this kid, but had to admit he was making sense. If it'd been the other way round, he would've been smarming at their stupidity at having so willingly followed the advice of two people who had been a part of Elena's disappearance.

"Alright, smartass," he snarled. "What do YOU suggest we do now?"

_"Head back to Mystic Falls, like I said. We can all meet up and decide on what to do next. I've rung Alaric who's agreed to take Jenna out of town for the weekend, but I don't know how much longer we can keep stalling, Damon."_

"As long as you can," Damon commanded, hanging up before he ended up screaming at how the roles had reversed.

He swung himself back into the car and spun it around, so that now they were driving back towards Mystic Falls.

"Pointless journey," Damon muttered. "Never should've been dragged out here… From now on," he said, pointing dramatically at Stefan. "Let ME do the thinking! Your broody forehead is no better than one of those stupid Sat Navs."

Stefan allowed Damon to rant for a while, figuring it was easier to let him do that than to argue with him. In a way, he felt better that they were going back. They would be on familiar turf, familiar land, and it would make it easier to formulate a plan. He was surprisingly impressed with Jeremy, although admitting that in front of a clearly pissed off Damon was probably suicidal.

No. Some things were just better left unsaid.

* * *

Elijah steered a frightened Elena towards the church ruins, his hand gripping hers so tightly that she couldn't have run away even if she found the courage to. He pushed her ahead and she felt physically sick at seeing Katherine again, although she had a much worse threat just behind her.

She almost stumbled on one of the stairs as they headed towards the tomb where Katherine was sealed, but Elijah kept her steady. There was an air down here which terrified her, despite the fact she'd been through worse crap than going into a tomb. The undead no longer frightened her, although the one exception was out in the shadows; a faceless fear she had yet to meet.

Up ahead loomed the tomb, and she was pushed towards it.

"It's in there," she whispered, hoping he would go inside, which would leave her free to run away.

He dragged her a few feet forwards, examining the entrance carefully. He pushed her to one side as he dragged the tomb door across, and then dragged her back to his side.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he whispered in her ear. "If Katherine's in there, there's a good chance she's trapped there by some kind of spell. Is that what you were hoping for? Me to go wandering in like some fool giving you the chance to escape?"

Elena didn't answer; her terrified expression gave it all away.

They both looked up at the sound of shuffling, their eyes fixed on the doorway as a bedraggled and hungry looking Katherine dragged herself to the entrance, a hoarse gasp leaving her mouth at the sight of Elijah.

"Katerina," Elijah greeted coldly.

"Elijah," Katherine responded, regaining her composure. "Elena," she added, barely concealing a smirk at her doppelganger's predicament. "What can I do you both for?"

"The moonstone," Elijah replied. "It's with you, I presume?"

"You presume correctly," Katherine purred. "But if you want it, you'll have to come and get it."

"You know I'll do no such thing," he remarked coldly.

"Send the girl in," Katherine suggested, eyeing Elena with malicious delight.

"What, so you can snap her neck?" Elijah retorted. "No chance."

"Well, it seems we're at an impasse then, doesn't it?" Katherine taunted, waving the moonstone into view. "I see no reason for me to give up my only bargaining chip for you."

"What if I could get Klaus off your back?" Elijah suggested.

"You could," Katherine said airily. "But you won't. You forget, dear Elijah, that I'm not a fool. I want more than just freedom from Klaus. What use is eternity to me if I don't have my playground to play in?"

She smirked, revealing a set of still white teeth.

"You're weaker than you were, Katerina," Elijah remarked. "I doubt you'll have the strength to stop me if I went in and got it from you. And what's to stop me from just compulsing you, hm? You know I can do it."

"You won't stop me. That's the thing," she taunted. "You'll be trapped just like me and, although you weren't the toy boy I was hoping to have, you'll do just fine."

Elijah laughed coldly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You always were a player, Katerina," he remarked. "But you never cared for rules that much. So…what game are you playing right now? What do you want?"

Katherine smirked and edged closer to the door.

"Well, I'd love some freedom for a start," she said. "Or, failing that, a toy boy to play with. It's just so dull being here on my own," she added, her lips curled into a pout.

"It's no less than you deserve," Elijah remarked coldly.

"Stefan Salvatore would do nicely, if you're in the mood for bargaining," Katherine added, her smirk directed at Elena.

"Well, let's put it this way, Katherine," Elijah said, a smirk appearing on his own face. "You can either hand the moonstone to me now, someone who doesn't give a damn whether you live or die, or you can wait for Klaus to come and get it from you. He has a witch on his side, so don't go spouting any rubbish about him being trapped inside the tomb alongside you. He's learned a few more tricks since you last encountered him."

Katherine glared wordlessly across at the older vampire, her lips curled into a spiteful pout. Her cruel gaze then flickered across towards Elena, who shivered at the sheer amount of malice there was there.

"At least let me have a word with Elena before I hand it over," she said coolly. "In private. She can stand on this side of the door so I don't waste any of her precious blood," she added with a sneer. "That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Elijah snarled. "But you have a minute. That's all. If you don't hand it over then, you'll have worse to fear than Klaus, I can assure you."

He stalked off, out of earshot. Strangely though, Elena felt no safer.

"Elena, Elena, Elena," Katherine purred, staring at her with utter scorn. "You have both Salvatores at your feet. You are right where I was in 1864."

"I won't end up like you, Katherine," Elena vowed. "I won't."

"True," Katherine agreed. "You'll be dead," she added spitefully.

Elena whitened with shock and hatred.

"I'm your flesh and blood," she said, her voice shaking. "How can you be so manipulative and selfish and _cruel_?"

"Better you than me," Katherine remarked callously. "I want you to have something," she then added, tossing Elena something small.

Elena examined it carefully, narrowing her eyes with suspicion.

"Why are you giving this to me?" she asked.

"Because as much as I hate you, I hate Klaus even more," Katherine explained. "Use it wisely."

"You really messed Stefan up you know," Elena said after a brief pause.

"Oh, in that sense you're exactly like me," Katherine said cockily. "Although I think you're doing a rather more splendid job than me."

"I'm not messing Stefan up," Elena snapped.

"Oh yes you are," Katherine replied, raising an eyebrow. "The closer you get to Damon, the more messed up Stefan gets. Don't worry about it though. When you eventually realize you love Damon, Stefan will come crawling back to me." She laughed darkly. "We'll all live happily ever after."

Elena shot her a dark look but didn't dignify that with a comment. Elijah had re-emerged and she found his company was infinitesimally better than Katherine's. She tucked away Katherine's present, determined not to use it. It had spite written all over it.

"Here you go," Katherine spat, flinging the accursed moonstone out of the tomb. "Happy Doppelganger Slaughter Day." She smirked at her own joke. "Don't forget to invite me to the party. I love a good dance, don't I Elena?"

Elena glared at her but didn't answer, the wounds from that experience only just beginning to heal. She wouldn't at all be sorry to see the back of Katherine Pierce, a.k.a. Katerina Petrova.

"When I catch up to Klaus," Elijah said coolly. "I'll tell him right where to find you. I doubt your situation will have changed much in a few days."

"Oh you underestimate the power of need," Katherine informed him, a wide grin spreading across the face. "Sooner or later, Damon or Stefan will come crawling back to me, desperate for answers. I'll give them to them - for a price."

Elijah lifted a single eyebrow in response, but left the conversation at that. He grabbed Elena's arm and started to drag her away, although she couldn't peel her eyes away from Katherine, who gave a last dark laugh before disappearing out of sight but, it seemed, never out of mind.

* * *

**A/n: Yay a fast update for once! I'm really on a roll with the story. I loved writing Katherine, I really did. I want to include more scenes with her and have a brief idea for another scene to do so yay! The bonding scene I mentioned last time will take place in the next chapter. Sorry for misleading you, folks, but had a lot to cram in this chapter. Bad planning on my part, lol. **

Next chapter – two characters bond in their fate, someone makes contact with Elena, of only for a brief moment, and Elena learns a devastating truth.


	5. Confessions

_Chapter 5: Confessions _

* * *

She had no concept of time anymore, or if it even existed.

After their little visit to Katherine, Elena had been bundled rather unceremoniously into the car again, under, once again, compulsion to behave and not make any sounds which would attract attention. Considering the entire civilization of Mystic Falls lay beyond the woods, she knew screaming was pointless - no one would hear her. Compulsion, in that case, was rather unnecessary, though she daren't argue with a man who even Katherine had initially been afraid of.

They approached the house where Eleazar lived and pulled up just outside the door, which suggested to Elena that this was just a flying visit, presumably to pick up the unconscious Tyler. She huddled against the side of the car, taking deep breaths to calm herself, thinking of Stefan and Bonnie to keep herself calm.

Thinking of a certain other person had rather the opposite effect, although she was no longer sure whether the fact he had her heart racing even when he wasn't in the room was a negative thing.

Elijah climbed out first, immediately speeding over to her side to drag her out, like she wasn't capable of doing so all on her own. His hand on her arm was a habit at this point, a rather tiresome one at that. Considering the circumstances, however, she knew better than to complain.

Elijah didn't bother with knocking again. He walked through, pushing her ahead like the bully he was.

"Back again?" Eleazar didn't sound in the least bit surprised. "Was your mission successful?"

"Of course," Elijah replied smoothly. "I want to thank you for your services, Eleazar. I had hoped we'd meet under less rushed circumstances but there you go. Klaus will appreciate your part in this, I'm sure."

"So my debt is over? I'm free?" Eleazar said, trembling.

"Of course. I'm a man of my word," Elijah assured him. "You are forgiven."

Eleazar made the cross sign and sighed with relief. Elijah smiled at him, an odd expression for someone of his caliber to make, Elena observed, and then watched in horror as his fist tore through Eleazar's chest, only withdrawing when he had the man's feebly beating heart in his hands. She turned to one side, wanting to throw up.

Eleazar let out a feeble gasp of horror as he realized what was happening, before slumping to the ground in what felt like slow motion. Elena felt tears fill her eyes, releasing a soft moan at the brutal act. She'd only known the vampire an hour or so, but felt such compassion for him after hearing his story. He'd been the one who'd reminded her that not everything tagged with the supernatural was evil, that there was still some good in the world, even if it wasn't always obvious where it was.

"You're evil," Elena spat at Elijah. "You're a monster!"

"That as may be, we have a schedule to keep to," Elijah replied, not even having the sheer courtesy to look at her.

Whilst he bent down to pick up Tyler's unconscious form, Elena seized her chance and bolted out of the door. He may have compelled her to behave and be quiet, but he'd not mentioned anything about staying still. She bolted and got as far as the edge of the woods, before he caught up to her.

He grabbed her hair, pulling her back in a way that suggested intense pain would follow if she didn't cooperate. Elena bit back tears of frustration, realizing it had been a long shot anyway. It wasn't like she was NOT going to try, was it? She knew Stefan and Damon would've been disappointed if she'd just succumbed to her fate, because it wasn't her to lie down and accept all this crap like she deserved it all. The fact was she didn't deserve it, and she was going to keep on fighting.

"Nice try." Elijah sounded mildly impressed, as if he commended her for the attempt rather than condemned her for it. "But you're not going anywhere."

She vainly struggled as he dragged her back to the car, glaring at him all the while as he pushed her inside and used yet more tape to tie and gag her up.

"Sorry," he said, noticing her less-than-happy look. "You've proven to be something of a wildcat, and I can't have you escaping now, can I?"

He chuckled when she attempted to say something back but was prevented from doing so. She watched with slowly uncurling despair as he raced back into the house to retrieve Tyler. Leaning back against the seat, she wondered how the others were, whether they were close to finding her. As much as she was fed up of being rescued and saved when she could do nothing of her own free will to save them, she missed them all…even Damon.

She remembered the first time she'd had faith in him. It was when they'd been in Georgia and, for the first time, she'd felt completely safe with him. They'd had a laugh, something she hadn't had in ages, and he'd let down his guard with her, showing a side to him she hadn't seen before. Of course, after that he'd done things to piss her off - taunting Alaric about killing his wife, her mother; opening up the tomb of vampires just to get Katherine back; threatening her life (or, rather her life status) just to get at Stefan - but she always held that tiny bit of faith in him that he could better himself. And the times he'd surprised her vastly outnumbered the times he hadn't.

Again, she had to wonder why Damon was the one who entered her mind. She felt exhausted, so decided to put down her wild thoughts to that. Anything was easier than trying to find the reason for why her thoughts were what they were.

She watched with even more despair as Elijah returned, his eyes alight with malicious satisfaction. She noticed he tucked the moonstone in his pocket, obviously planning to keep it extremely close to hand.

As Elijah started up the engine, she wriggled around in a vain attempt to make herself comfortable. Something hard and square was in her pocket, making it extremely hard to do so, and she tried to peep down to see what it was. The object in question, which she'd forgotten about in all the chaos, filled her heart with hope and she realized she had a major shot at getting help, getting rescued.

It was her phone.

* * *

Even by Damon's standards, they were going dangerously fast.

The car tore down the road at surely a suicidal speed and, even though he had nothing to fear, Stefan still felt a bit on edge. Questioning Damon when he was in a foul mood, however, was far more dangerous and he decided it was wiser to let his brother drive the way he wanted to. Besides, if it got them to Mystic Falls quicker, who was he to judge?

He wondered how Elena was holding up, whether she was hurt or just shaken up, then immediately scolded himself for thinking about the worst case scenarios. Ever since Jeremy had told him that her bed hadn't been slept in, he hadn't been able to think of anything else but her. His thoughts had been divided between the positive ones, the ones where he was convinced they would find her, and the negative ones, where he could think of nothing else but of the worst.

It didn't matter if she still didn't want to get back together with him - he wanted her alive and safe.

He glanced out of the window and saw a set of headlights flashing ahead, signalling the approach of a car in the opposite direction. At first, he didn't think anything of it, until he saw who exactly was in the other vehicle.

"Damon, stop the car," he commanded.

"What?" Damon asked, looking puzzled.

"Stop the car!" Stefan repeated, looking frustrated. "Pull over!"

With a loud sigh, Damon pressed down on the brakes, a movement which caused the car to veer to the side with a loud screech. Unharmed but nonetheless frustrated, Damon opened the door and sped over to Stefan, his face inches away from his.

"Did you need to go to the bathroom or something? There was a gas station about forty miles back if you needed to go," he sneered. "What was the big emergency?"

Stefan nodded towards the other car, which had also, somewhat more gracefully, pulled over to the side. A short, spiky haired woman stepped out and it took Damon a while to place her face. Once he had, however, he stepped forward, snarling like a Rottweiler, causing Stefan to quickly grab his brother to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

"Easy," Rose said, placing her hands out defensively. "We just want to talk."

"Talk? Yeah, let's talk," Damon laughed, sarcasm dripping off every syllable. "Let's talk about how you're the ones who kidnapped Elena in the first place. Or, about how your 'information' led us hundreds of miles in the WRONG DIRECTION. Or, we could chat about the pros and cons of me ripping your head off." He smirked aggressively. "I don't know about you but the last one sounds pretty darn good."

"Damon…" Stefan warned.

"I know what we did was wrong," Rose pleaded. "But we want to make amends. I say we…" She glanced back at the car. "It's just me. Trevor wanted no part in this now we've got our freedom and our lives back."

Damon's scowl never left his face. Every inch of him distrusted this woman.

"Why do you want to help?" Stefan took over the questioning. "Why now?"

Rose sighed and wandered over to their side of the road, placing her hands inside her pocket and looking quite nervous.

"When we first brought the girl in," she explained, "I was convinced she was like Katherine and so it would be no problem handing her over to Elijah. I was sure the apple wouldn't fall far off the tree. But she wasn't. She started asking questions, started figuring out who we were, and I realized she wasn't like Katherine at all. Katherine wouldn't have wasted time asking questions; she would've been plotting how to betray us, how to turn the situation in our favour."

"Damn straight," Damon growled.

"Look, we want no involvement in the rescue part of the plan," Rose explained, "but I can tell you where Elijah will take her."

"And we're expected to believe you?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow in sheer disbelief. "Because you're _such_ a reliable source?" He snorted. "Doubtful."

"I genuinely thought that's where he would take her," she snapped. "Doubt my word, fine, but don't call me a liar. It would've been a logical move to take him up to Vancouver. It's where Klaus usually goes, if he's ever up that way." She hesitated. "But I suppose Elijah won't go to Klaus. He'll let Klaus come to him. Even those in Klaus' circle are wary of him. Based on that logic, there's only really one place he'd take her."

"You're not really buying this are you, Stefan?" Damon turned to his brother, looking exasperated. "She's about as trustworthy as a loosely disguised Vervain covered stake."

"Nice analogy," Rose commented dryly. "Is there a story in that?"

Damon ignored her, irritated by her presence.

"Look, take my number," Rose pressed. "If, at any point, you change your mind, call me and I'll tell you. Right now, I'm got better things to do than listen to the rantings of a teenage drama queen." She eyed Damon pointedly.

"Bitch," Damon muttered.

"That…isn't helping," Stefan sighed. "Can you just tell me?" he directed towards Rose. "Damon…isn't exactly in the most helpful of moods right now."

Rose sighed and retrieved a pen from her pocket, grabbing a folded piece of paper from her pocket to scrawl something down on it.

"Do me a favour," she said, before handing it over. "Don't go there alone. You think you can handle it but the fact is you can't. Elijah is smart, he'll be expecting someone to try and rescue her. He's also got several hundred years experience on you so…don't let your hot tempers take over."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damon protested.

"Damon, stop," Stefan snapped. "Thank you," he added to Rose. "I really appreciate this." He eyed Damon meaningfully. "Both of us do."

She shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal, before speeding off back to her car, sliding inside and taking off without another word.

"Did I mention how much she really, really, really pisses me off?" Damon ranted. "I don't buy that nice act for one moment. We should've just ripped her head off when we had the chance!"

"See, there lies your problem," Stefan lectured. "The fact your immediate response when something pisses you off is to tear it to shreds doesn't exactly make people warm to you. You need to let the little things go, Damon. You've spent 145 years burning over Katherine, and look how that turned out."

"Enough, Stefan," Damon said, rolling his eyes. "Save the lecture for some other time, when a) I actually care and b) I have the time to formulate a witty comeback which will shoot your argument to sunshine. Right now we have a butt that needs saving."

Stefan shook his head, but climbed back into the car. He knew it was no use arguing with Damon, and he didn't know why he bothered to even try. Arguing with Damon was like arguing with a brick wall; a particularly stubborn brick wall, at that.

* * *

She awoke after a long period of time, wondering how and when she'd actually fallen asleep bearing in mind her main plan had been to stay awake for as long as she could. Stretching, she felt a cold draft coming from somewhere and, when her eyes had focused themselves, she realized she was no longer in the car.

Elena sat herself up and found herself in some kind of cell. It was dark and she felt absolutely freezing. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her small frame and examined her new hole of captivity, surveying it with the attitude of someone who has absolutely nothing better to do.

She noticed the iron bars on the window and on the door and sighed loudly, realizing she'd swapped one prison for another. At least here she could stretch her legs a bit, maybe try and work out some form of escape plan in her head.

She felt something vibrate against her leg. It was then she remembered her phone. Excitedly, she pulled it out of her pocket and opened it cautiously, looking round to make sure Elijah wasn't watching.

"Hello?" she whispered.

_"Elena?" _

She could've cried with relief.

"Damon?" she cried. "Is that you? Where's Stefan?"

_"Well, who else owns a charming, sexy, seductive voice like mine?"_ Of course, Damon had to open with a witty remark. _"Stefan's fine. He's …fuelling up, so to speak. Where are you? Are you ok? He didn't hurt you, did he? What happened?"_

"I'm with this vampire called Elijah," she explained hurriedly. "I don't know where I am. Damon…" Her voice broke. "I'm frightened."

_"Calm down." _He was reassuring, remarkably kind for a change. _"We're coming to get you. We won't let anything happen to you…"_

She suddenly let out an audible gasp…and promptly dropped the phone.

_"Elena? ELENA?"_

Elijah picked up the phone, examining it curiously before disconnecting the call. He locked eyes with Elena's and then crushed the phone before her eyes. He didn't appear angry… which seemed to frighten her ever the more. He just stared intently at her for a few seconds, before lifting up a fast hand and slapping her hard.

She reeled backwards at the shock of it, losing her brave composure at once as her entire body started to tremble.

"Well, I must say you possess more pluck than I could ever have predicted," he said mildly, his voice dangerously low.

Elena stared defiantly at him, surprised that the warmth she'd felt at hearing Damon's voice again stayed with her, even though she was pretty certain she was about to be crucified for it.

Elijah didn't say anything for a moment, his eyes completely fixated on hers, all the cruelty and malice he possessed resting there, in full view. Then, without warning, he left, leaving her trembling and confused. She sunk to her knees, the terror draining every last ounce of courage and strength she possessed, before her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

* * *

Jeremy arrived home in a confused and terrified state. He'd left Bonnie at Lucy's figuring the two of them had a lot to talk about.

"Jeremy!" Jenna stormed into the hall, her face a picture of rage. "You and I need to talk."

"Does it have to be now?" Jeremy asked wearily.

"You bet your ass it has to be now!" Jenna raged. "I just phoned Bonnie's dad. Apparently, neither Elena nor Bonnie are at his house. You wanna tell me where they are and, more importantly, why you got her to _lie_ to me?"

Jeremy felt himself go cold. He could lie on cue when necessary but his head was filled to the brim with questions. There was no time for him to make up a lie which would pacify Jenna, not when she could sniff out a lie a mile away when she was in this sort of mood.

"I…" he stammered.

"Cut the bull, Jeremy," Jenna snapped, her face contorted beyond recognition. "I want the truth, and I want it now. After what I've done for you since your parents died, you owe me that much." She inhaled, evidently trying to calm herself down. "If Elena's hurt or…or…in trouble, don't you want her to get _help?_"

She'd found his weak spot and nailed it.

Jeremy sighed, realizing Damon and Stefan would _murder_ him for this. But it wasn't their wrath he was afraid of but Bonnie's. The worst Damon and Stefan could do was to snap his neck, which he'd recover from, whereas Bonnie had an entire world of spells at her command.

"Bonnie's at her friend Lucy's house. Elena…she…she's missing," he eventually confessed. "She's been missing since last night."

Jenna pursed her lips, evidently trying to assess whether he was telling the truth or not. He didn't know why she thought he'd lie about that, although he figured she'd noticed the tension between them and had assumed this was just a sick attempt to get even with her, for whatever she'd done.

"Why the _hell_ didn't you tell me? Or call the police?" she demanded.

"Because…" He turned scarlet.

"Because?" Jenna prompted impatiently.

"Sorry Elena," he muttered, before adding in a louder voice, "I saw her empty bed this morning and assumed she'd been round Stefan's. It wasn't until I got to school and talked to him that I realized she hadn't been there at all. We've been searching for her all day."

Jenna's angry expression evolved into an anxious one.

"Did you try her phone?"

"Several times," he replied. "It rings but she doesn't pick up."

She stared at his face, and he realized she was trying to think of a possible scenario which would explain Elena's prolonged absence.

"Maybe she's at Caroline's?" she suggested.

Jeremy shook his head. "Caroline's not seen her either."

Jenna's anxiety progressed to panic.

"Well, think, Jeremy!" she snapped. "Where could she be?"

"I don't know!" Jeremy snapped back. "We've checked everywhere we could think of, Aunt Jenna."

Jenna seemed to deliberate for a few seconds, her face flashing from panic, to anger, to calm in the space of about thirty seconds. He wasn't afraid of punishment, but he was afraid he would be held back from helping. He hated feeling useless and he knew Damon would gloat about it when and if they got Elena back.

"I'm calling the sheriff," she announced, her voice thick with anxiety. "I can't see where she would go if not to Bonnie's or Caroline's…"

"No!" Jeremy shouted. "I mean," he added hastily, "we don't know for sure the worst has happened. Let's just give it until tomorrow, at least."

"Jeremy, you've already told me she's not at anyone's house," Jenna pointed out. "Where else could she be? Something must've happened because she would not just leave on her own without giving anyone any warning."

She turned scarlet, remembering that wasn't exactly true. Elena had taken off before, returning in a bad mood, she might add, and decided that it was best not to think of the worst until they'd seen all the evidence.

"Alright," she conceded, after a brief pause. "We'll wait until morning."

* * *

She eventually awoke a few hours later, her entire body frozen with fear and the cold. Elena rubbed her head and cursed, thankful that there was no blood there. She sat up and felt angry tears pour down her face. She may have done her share of sins but she didn't deserve to be a sacrifice for a power hungry, evil, mysterious vampire of unquestionable power.

She allowed herself a few moments to pity herself before she stood up. Her legs threatened to buckle underneath her but she kept herself together. Hearing Damon's voice, even if it had been for less than a minute, had been completely wonderful. She'd forgotten all his past misdeeds, all his past crimes, and had just lost herself in the pleasure that was his voice. She missed him, more than she would admit to herself. The knowledge he was out there, presumably with Stefan, to find her filled with hope and promise.

Something happened then which made her forget about her own situation, if only for a moment. She heard a soft groan from outside her cell. Curious, she made her way over to the door and peeped out between the bars, noticing another cell lay adjacent to hers. _That's where Tyler Lockwood is being kept, _she realized with a quiet kind of horror.

"Where am I?" she heard him groan. "What kind of bull - ?"

"Tyler?" she spoke hesitantly. "Tyler is that you?"

She heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by the sounds of movement. His face stuck itself between the bars of his own cell as his eyes locked on hers. Other than the fact he looked as confused as hell, he appeared to be ok.

"Elena? Elena Gilbert?" he asked, frowning as he examined her.

"Yeah," she breathed. "Yeah, it's me." She hesitated. "Are you ok?"

"What the hell is going on here?" He ignored her question. "I mean, one minute I'm talking to Caroline Forbes, the next this dude comes up to me and asks me if I was Tyler Lockwood. When I said yes, he knocked me out. The dude was seriously strong. Freakishly strong, I should say."

She watched him quietly, hearing an unusual clinking sound coming from his cell.

"What was that?" she asked curiously.

"He's chained me up," Tyler croaked, looking disturbed. "He knows."

Elena didn't want this to happen here, but she had to confess to the truth. At least part of it, anyway. Tyler was a great many things but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to believe she was here by happenchance.

"He knows you're a werewolf," she guessed.

Tyler's eyes flashed to hers, surprise and suspicion emerging. He opened his mouth once, then twice, but it seemed she'd rendered him speechless. As much as she wanted to keep him away from the supernatural, she couldn't deny that he was very much a part of it now.

"How did you know that?" he inevitably asked.

"I know a lot of things, Tyler," she replied wearily. "Too much, in fact. The man who brought you here is a man called Elijah. He's a vampire."

She gave Tyler a minute to absorb that, although she sensed he was struggling with the truth already. If she gave him too much, there was a danger he would shut off completely, and her chance of rescuing him, rescuing them, would be gone. She needed him on her side.

"A vampire?" Tyler repeated, tasting the word in his mouth. "How is that even possible?"

"How is you being a werewolf possible?" Elena fired back. "We live in a world that's not as normal as we thought it was."

"What does he want with us?" Tyler wondered aloud. "What does he want with YOU?" he added, glancing at her. "Unless you're a - ?"

He suddenly looked wary, even hostile.

"No," she said, laughing at the thought. "I'm not a vampire. No, he wants me for quite another reason entirely. There's another vampire in town, her name's Katherine, and she looks like me. Exactly like me."

"Like a doppelganger?" Tyler asked, his eyes flashing with intrigue despite the situation he was in.

"Exactly." She nodded. "This…vampire, different from Elijah, wants me to break a curse. The Sun and the Moon curse, to be precise."

She proceeded to launch into a brief explanation of the curse. Only one part of her explanation seemed to captivate Tyler's attention.

"There's a way to break the curse?" he asked hopefully. "I don't have to be a werewolf?"

"I don't know," she confessed, deciding honesty was the best policy. "I just don't know."

"How do you know all this?" was Tyler's next question.

Again, she hesitated to reveal all to him. She knew certain bits of the story had to be left out, like the part that a werewolf's bite was lethal to vampires, and she had to make sure she didn't reveal Caroline was a vampire.

"Stefan and Damon are vampires," she told him.

"Seriously?" Tyler demanded. "Your boyfriend and his brother are _vampires?_" He snorted with disbelief. "Talk about going for the bad boys."

"Ex-boyfriend," Elena corrected quietly, not really sure why she needed to verify that fact.

"Whatever." Tyler seemed unconcerned by that fact. "So, why does he need _you_? You're a human, right?"

"Right," she repeated patiently. "But they need my blood to undo the curse. It's something to with a line that goes back centuries."

"The Gilbert line?"

"No, the Petrova line."

"But you're a Gilbert," Tyler said puzzled.

"I'm…sort of adopted," Elena admitted. "I found that out a couple of months ago."

Tyler whistled underneath his breath. "Talk about a rough year."

An awkward sort of silence fell between them. Not being two people who conversed much, awkwardness existed between them anyway, but Elena thought being in the same situation with so much to talk about would've eased them into a kind of friendship. Maybe she was expecting too much. Maybe she was hoping for a friend throughout all of this. Maybe she was just looking for comfort where there was none to be had.

"So why does he need me?" Tyler asked, although his tone indicated he'd already guessed the answer. "Is it because I'm a werewolf?"

"Yeah," Elena replied wearily. "Apparently, they're a dying breed, very hard to come by."

Tyler's hard eyes met hers. She knew he knew she was holding back information but she wasn't going to let his dickish attitude break her silence. She had, after all, more than herself to protect.

"I think Forbes is a werewolf," he told her.

"Caroline? Are you serious?"

She almost laughed at the ridiculous accusation, except she knew he wasn't far off the actual answer.

"I'm serious," Tyler insisted. "She knew what I was, she's freakishly strong, she's had a personality transplant or something, 'cause I don't remember her ever being so damn calm in a crisis before…"

"That doesn't mean she's a werewolf, Tyler," Elena said wearily. "She nearly _died_. That sort of thing can change you."

From the heavy silence that followed, they both knew she was on about her parents' accident. Neither of them knew how to move on from that dark reminder of what had been. Tyler had had a taste of Elena's world with his father's death and neither of them could say that their losses still didn't hurt, even though their worlds had been completely different back then.

"Ok, I get that she's probably messed up over that." Tyler tried a different tack. "But how do you explain the sudden amount of strength she has? She flipped me earlier. _No one_ has been able to do that to me since like the sixth grade."

"Maybe she's always been that strong," Elena suggested. "You've just never known that…"

"That's a load of crap and you know it," Tyler muttered. "Tell me the truth, Elena. If she is one…"

"She's a vampire," Elena snapped. "Ok? She's a vampire. I didn't want to say because I didn't want anyone to find out."

Tyler's face completely dropped at the news. She didn't have the energy to elaborate any further.

"Caroline Forbes is a vampire?" he demanded. "For real?"

"Yep." Elena could hear in her own voice how close she was to crying. "She's a vampire. You're a werewolf. I'm a doppelganger. It's like the world's lamest supernatural themed play."

She heard Tyler's chains rattling as he shifted his stance. It echoed throughout the chamber and sounded creepy, like there was more than just the two of them down here. She shuddered loudly, remembering the cold.

"I'm glad you two are getting along," a sudden cold voice announced.

Elena whirled around and saw Elijah in the room with her. She wasn't even going to ask how he'd managed that particular feat, seeing how she was pressed up against the only visible exit in the room.

"Who are you?" came Tyler's angry voice.

"My story will bore you," Elijah said lazily. "Especially since there's so much of it to tell. I want to know what Katerina said to you, Elena."

"What's it to you?" Elena demanded, her voice, even to her own ears, sounding of defeat and despair.

"I'm curious," Elijah replied, meeting her eyes, although he didn't seem to be aiming to compel her in anyway. "She can't have divulged about the night your parents' car went into the river, although I assume you knew about that anyway…"

Elena suddenly felt her blood rush out of her body.

"What about my parents' accident?" she choked out.

Elijah didn't seem remotely surprised by her display of ignorance on the matter. He looked as if he was enjoying being the one to divulge the secret.

"Katerina was there on the night your parent's died," he said slowly, dragging out each painful word. "Your parents were distracted, were they not, by something on the road?"

"It was a deer," Elena said through gritted teeth.

"If you say so," Elijah replied lazily. "Katerina was there, out of nostalgia I think, although I think Stefan Salvatore might've been a more credible reason for her being there. I think she was hunting when she came across your parents' car. Judging by your startling similarities in appearance, I'm guessing your parents were quite…alarmed by her appearance."

"You're lying," Elena spat, though heavy tears were falling down her face.

"Maybe, maybe not," Elijah replied coldly. "But she managed to pick up this into the bargain."

Elena's heart froze as she saw her dad's wallet come into the light.

"Oh my God," she choked, the tears gushing down her face in vast quantities. "Oh my _God._"

She took the wallet tentatively and opened it, spotting the array of credit cards and identity documents he always carried with him. There was a family picture of them all together stuffed in one of the small pouches and it was this that made her realize exactly how Katherine had discovered her.

"Why are you telling me this?" she whispered, raising her head so her eyes were aligned with Elijah's.

"Because you deserve to know the truth," Elijah replied simply. "So you can get closure. I know you've lived all this time thinking it was your fault. The accident, that is. But it's not."

"Why do you care?" Elena spat bitterly.

"I don't. If I'm honest, that little speech was quite nauseating to rehearse. Honestly, I wanted you to be aware exactly how we found you. So you know it was fate which delivered you into our hands. So you understand exactly how any attempts at escaping are foolish. You will be delivered to Klaus – one way or another."

With those words said, he left a broken Elena to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart and soul. She met Tyler's eyes, and then quickly looked away when it seemed his look was turning into one of pity.

She went into the corner of her cell and knelt down, still clutching her father's wallet, and quietly sobbed against the wall, the leather of the wallet pressed against her pale cheek.

* * *

**A/n: Phew that was a long chapter! Lol. I don't know exactly how Elena's parents got off the bridge, so I invented a theory which also creates a nice subplot which will occur after the conclusion of the main plot. Things are starting to happen now you'll be pleased to know! Thanks for the reviews by the way, keep 'em coming! **


	6. No News Is No News

_Chapter 6: No News Is No News_

* * *

"Pull over here," Stefan commanded, looking slightly flushed. "There's a blood bank here."

Damon obeyed, realizing they both needed to gain as much strength as they could if they were going to fight and then kill Elijah. The idea of Elena being a sacrifice kept ringing through his mind and he felt sick to his very core that there was the faintest of chances he could lose her forever.

"Will you be ok?" he asked, trying to maintain his cool composure. "Want me to hold your hand whilst you do it?"

"I'll be fine," Stefan said, though his voice was low.

Obviously, he wasn't the only one who was thinking about the worst. He saw his brother's pale expression and felt sympathetic, although that really wasn't an emotion he particularly cared for.

Damon grabbed Stefan's arm, fixing his gaze on him.

"Are you _sure?_" he asked quietly. "You're not going to go mental on me and grab a year's supply, are you?"

"No!" Stefan snapped. "I can handle it, Damon."

"Alright," Damon said indifferently, releasing his arm.

He watched Stefan leave the car, making sure he was out of sight and out of hearing distance before he attempted something he knew would earn him the accusation of being a hypocrite if he was caught doing it. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and brought up Elena's number, imagining Stefan's response if he did catch him in the act.

_"I knew it! You DO love her! Don't give me that…You wouldn't try unless you loved her."_

Damon shuddered at the mere concept of having a smug Stefan as a passenger for the next how many miles. But, he reminded himself, a smug Stefan was a price worth paying if he could hear her voice again, if only for a moment. And, he added to himself, once they were all out of this mess, he was going to tell her how he really felt about her. He owed her that much. Even if she shot him down, which she inevitably would, at least he would know he'd tried everything that didn't include compulsion to win her over. He could live with that kind of defeat.

He pressed the call button and held the receiver up to his ear, his hand trembling slightly. It rang several times and, before he could hang up with defeat, he heard the most wonderful, glorious sound in the entire world:

_"Hello?" _

"Elena?" he cried joyfully.

_"Damon? Is that you? Where's Stefan?" _

He could've cared less that she mentioned Stefan because, unless he was imagining it, there was unconcealed relief and delight in her voice, two emotions she rarely ever displayed in his presence.

"Well, who else owns a charming, sexy, seductive voice like mine?" he asked cockily, the relief making him a little bit more arrogant than usual. "Stefan's fine," he added, somewhat reluctantly, "he's…fuelling up, so to speak. Where are you? Are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he? What happened?"

The questions came tumbling out before Damon could stop them. He'd never felt this anxious before, never felt his confidence so shaken before. But then again he'd never met a girl like Elena before, even if she did look like Katherine.

_"I'm with a vampire called Elijah." _He could hear the tremor in her voice as she spoke. _"I don't know where I am. Damon…I'm frightened."_

Damon felt a surge of hot, raw anger shake his entire frame as he realized the one person in his world who he'd believed could withstand anything was frightened and seemed to be breaking before him.

"Calm down," he instructed patiently. "We're coming to get you. We won't let anything happen to you."

He heard her gasp on the other end and knew she'd been caught on her phone.

"Elena!" he yelled. "ELENA!"

But there was silence, and the call was immediately disconnected. He tried to call her again but it didn't even ring this time. He tried it over and over but with no luck and he felt fear stab his heart. He should never have tried to ring her. If her captor punished her in any way, that rested on his conscience.

Damon glanced back at where Stefan was, somewhat relieved that he wasn't back yet. He decided to keep this latest mistake to himself. At least he could content himself with the knowledge she was alive, that she would be kept alive because her blood was needed, although it still was a gruesome thought to think about.

Suddenly, he saw Stefan running towards the car, clutching two separate bags of blood, and the sight momentarily amused him before he returned back to serious mode.

"One each?" he questioned, the moment Stefan re-entered the car. "Are you sure you're ready? You're gonna be no use to me, or to Elena, if you turn back into that bloodthirsty demon and frankly I'm not gonna waste the time trying to save you."

"I'll be fine. I'll just keep taking small sips," Stefan said confidently.

"That's what they all say," Damon muttered. "Then, the next thing you know you're on that slippery slope and kidnapping humans again."

"That was _once_," Stefan muttered. "No need to harp on about it."

"Oh I will if you go back down that road," Damon retorted, his expression stern. "So behave, Stefan. I will not hesitate to incapacitate you if I think you're a threat to anyone, especially Elena."

Stefan didn't reply, but his face contorted with worry at the possibility that he could hurt Elena in the process of trying to become stronger. Damon settled back into his seat, enjoying the sudden reversal of roles. He never thought he'd enjoy being the goody-goody for a change, and there was a part of him which knew exactly why he was trying to change, but he did, and he was determined not to let Stefan go down that dark road again.

He might've been a pain in the ass, but at least when he wasn't scoffing down blood like there was no tomorrow he was a _controllable_ pain in the ass.

* * *

Jeremy turned off his alarm clock, even though it had proven to be pointless seeing as though he'd had little to no sleep that night. He'd spent the first few hours tossing and turning, seeing his parents' accusatory expressions in his mind. It didn't matter that Elena was the older sibling because there was an unwritten rule that the brother took care of the sister, no matter what the age gap may have been, and he'd failed in that department.

He threw on some fresh clothes and trudged down the stairs, hoping against hoping for a miracle. Maybe Elena would be at the breakfast table. Maybe Jenna would've forgotten about their little talk last night. Maybe he'd woken up and none of the past two day's events had happened.

As if life was ever that easy.

He walked downstairs and saw Sheriff Forbes, looking a bit paler than normal, talking to Jenna. Both women were serious and he could see Jenna was biting her lip to stop herself from breaking down. Alaric was there as well, playing the part of the concerned boyfriend extremely well.

"Jeremy…" Jenna had spotted him. "Come and tell Sheriff Forbes what you told me."

"Jenna…" Jeremy protested weakly.

"Just do it," Jenna snapped wearily, looking as though she'd not had any sleep.

Jeremy sighed but recounted everything he knew, skimming over the parts about vampires and werewolves and anything they wouldn't have believed. He told them about how he'd assumed Elena had stopped over Stefan's, and to his surprise Jenna seemed to be remarkably calm about that, how he'd questioned Stefan and found out she'd not been there at all and how he'd spent the entire day trying to find out where she was.

"So, we're looking at another missing student," Sheriff Forbes sighed, glancing at her notepad with gloom. "First, Aimee Bradley, now Elena. Tyler's not been seen in a while either, although Carol seems to think he's just upset about Mason going back to Florida and is just avoiding the house for a while."

"Did they find Aimee Bradley?" Jenna asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Sheriff Forbes said, snapping her notepad shut. "It – It wasn't good news. We located her body yesterday."

Jenna let out a horrified and agonised moan, leaning her head against Alaric's shoulder, all the while picturing Elena in the same state.

"We're looking at a possible kidnapping here," Sheriff Forbes continued, "although we've yet to make a connection between the two cases. And since the kidnappers have made no demands, we're not ruling out any other possibilities." She patted Jenna awkwardly on the shoulder. "We're doing the best we can, Jenna. We're pulling all the stops out on this one. It's one thing to go around killing innocent citizens, but when the terror extends to our children…" She stopped, allowing herself time to choke back a sob, before continuing, "We'll be in touch."

Jenna nodded her appreciation and stepped forwards to see the Sheriff.

Alaric moved closer to Jeremy. "No news from Stefan and Damon?"

"None," Jeremy replied gloomily. "I've tried ringing them and texting them but they're not replying."

"Maybe they've found a lead and are following it," Alaric suggested.

"I don't know," Jeremy sighed. "You know the expression 'no news is good news'?"

"Yeah," Alaric replied, looking confused.

"It's a load of crap."

Jeremy walked off, eager to do anything but sit and wait around for more bad news. He just couldn't handle it today. Luckily, he spotted Bonnie outside her house, her gloomy expression matching Sheriff Forbes'.

"You ok?" he asked gently.

"I take it Jenna knows," Bonnie said, ignoring his question.

"Yeah, she made me 'fess up." Jeremy looked abashed, as if preparing himself for a scolding. "I had to tell her everything. Well, not everything, but the basic stuff."

"It's probably for the best," Bonnie replied numbly. "I talked to Lucy and we tried every spell we could think of but it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. Plus I need to save my powers and try not to use them so much. Magic wears me down if I use it too much."

"I know," Jeremy said softly.

Bonnie's lips curled into a soft smile, although she couldn't quite hide the despair in her eyes. He moved closer, taking her hand in his and squeezing it once before releasing it, as though he knew he'd made a move too soon.

"It'll be ok, Bonnie. They'll find her," he reassured her.

"I'd believe you if it weren't for the fact you're just as scared and confused as I am," she said, with a wry grin.

"I didn't want Jenna to find out." Jeremy looked back and saw Jenna and Alaric bickering quietly about something. "I thought I could stall her."

"It was a good plan, Jeremy," Bonnie said gently. "Look, we might not be able to track Elena down but that doesn't mean we have to give up. We'll think of something else, ok?"

"Ok," Jeremy agreed, looking visibly happier.

"Let's go to the Grill and have lunch or something. I can't think on an empty stomach," Bonnie said.

"Bonnie Bennett, are you asking me out?" Jeremy teased weakly.

"Come on." She tugged on his hand impatiently. "Let's go already."

"Well, that wasn't a no…" Jeremy said slyly, following her.

"It wasn't a yes either!" she called back, flouncing off, her long dark hair trailing in the wind, which caused Jeremy to temporarily forget exactly why he felt so unbelievably depressed.

* * *

She'd been curled up against the wall for what had felt like hours but in reality it had only been minutes. She'd clutched her precious keepsake close to her chest, occasionally lifting out the picture to stare at what had been a much happier time. The memories, however, became too overbearing, forcing her to put it back in.

"Elena?" Tyler called. "You ok?"

She didn't answer; she didn't know what it even was.

"Elena?" Tyler tried again. "I'm sure that guy was just playing with your mind. Don't listen to him."

Elena curled up into a tight ball, squeezing back more tears. She knew what she was feeling was just the remnants of the grief she'd put to bed a long time ago, the last drops of blood squeezed from the wound.

"I'm fine, Tyler," she croaked. "Honestly."

She heard the heavy sigh from the other cell and rose to her feet, her legs shaking from the lack of movement. She wished she could have a look at herself in the mirror; her face felt pale and dirty, her hair had knotted itself in several places, and she'd not eaten in over twenty four hours. She was surprised she was even alive.

As if by magic, a tray appeared at the foot of the door. It contained a bottle of water, a bowl of what appeared to be soup (it looked rather watery and thin) and a piece of bread. Now she really did feel like a prisoner.

"What is this crap?" Tyler asked in disgust, obviously having received the same tray. "How the hell did it get here?"

"Dunno, but it's food," Elena said, tentatively reaching for the bread and breaking small pieces off of it to eat. "I haven't eaten in ages."

She completely ignored the pathetic excuse for soup and had a mouthful of water, wincing at the horrible metallic taste it had. It was like she was drinking rust, rather than water. The bread was alright; a little crusty, and rather on the stale side of things, but it was edible. The soup she already could sense was cold, and she didn't even know what it was even supposed to be, so she just pushed it to one side.

The pair of them ate in silence, literally chewing over their situation.

"I hate this," Tyler raged, tipping his tray over. "We should be trying to escape, not playing helpless prisoners."

"You don't think I've _tried?_" Elena retorted. "You obviously have no idea what you're actually up against."

"I'm a werewolf," Tyler said dismissively. "I can handle anything they throw at me."

"Technically, you're not a werewolf until full moon," Elena reminded him. "And Elijah is not just a vampire. He's one of the _original_ vampires. That means he's faster, he's stronger, and has powers we'd be stupid to try and fight. Damon and Stefan are on the way, though."

"Super," Tyler muttered, "Ass and Major Ass are coming to save us."

Elena rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. It was a common fact Tyler had a major attitude problem which had earned him a few enemies over the years. Now she was beginning to realize his temper and attitude was a family trait and part of the curse too. Though she'd never really crossed paths with him, she was beginning to understand him in ways she never would've been able to before all this supernatural nonsense had taken over her life.

"Why are you still with Stefan if you know what he is?" Tyler suddenly asked. "How can you get past what he is?"

"It was difficult at first," Elena explained. "But in a way it was a lot easier knowing the truth. Yes, I was scared of what he was at first. Who wouldn't be? But in the end I suppose it was easy to overcome what he was because he has such a good heart. It was other things, other forces, which drove us apart. I still love him though."

It felt really weird talking to _Tyler_ of all people about this. She doubted he'd ever experienced anything remotely close to love, but he had a good heart, even if he hid it underneath his churlish manner.

"Caroline knew what I was," Tyler spoke, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. "She was all…caring and…and…nice. I didn't think she did nice. And suddenly, I'm seeing her in a whole other way, you know? It's weird."

If it was weird talking to Tyler about love, it was certainly weird hearing him confess his feelings to her. Elena wasn't sure what to say, because as far as she knew Caroline was still hung up on Matt, although she'd told Elena in confidence that it was for the best that they'd broken up. It was strange as well that Caroline being single had made her stronger, more confident, whereas before she'd convinced everyone she was a mess without one, that having someone to hold her and love her would make her less needy, less neurotic.

"It's surprising how people you thought you knew can change," she said aloud, wondering who she was really thinking of here: Caroline…or Damon?

She heard Tyler hoof himself onto the floor, the chains eerily rattling as he did so. She slid back to the floor and sunk herself into her own thoughts.

She'd got as far as thinking about Jeremy and Jenna when she heard a car door slam. Not daring to get her hopes up, she rose to her feet and made her way over to the barred window. She couldn't see anything because, from the look of things, it was one of those windows you got in cellars, the ones which only provided a view of all the things underneath the house. She wanted to believe it was Stefan and Damon who'd found her, but she knew Elijah wasn't exactly without transportation, and it could easily have been Klaus too.

"Tyler," she whispered, "I think someone's out there."

She heard the chains move which indicated he'd risen to his feet.

"What do you see?" he asked eagerly. "Is it the police?"

_Doubtful,_ Elena thought, but kept her negativity to herself, thinking one of them at least should still be allowed to hope.

"No," she replied slowly, "I can't tell who it is. The stupid window doesn't show me anything!"

She slammed her hand against the wall in frustration, feeling like there was either something tantalisingly good on the other side or something horrifically bad. Either way, she wanted to know who her knight in shining armour was, if that indeed was the role he was playing.

* * *

Stefan stepped out of the car and shut the door, examining the place with interest. He felt a surge of energy, part of which – well, most – had come from the small amount of blood he had taken. The place didn't disappoint in terms of looking like something which had stepped out of a history book. It was run down, abandoned by nature and time itself.

"Funny," Damon said, with a frown, having also stepped out of the car. "You would've thought _one_ of us would've come across this place at some point. I've never seen this building in my life. I don't even remember it from 1864."

"That's because it was built after our time," Stefan said, motioning to the year which had been inscribed onto the front of the house. "It was built in 1900."

"Hmm," Damon replied thoughtfully. "It reminds me of something."

"Of what?" Stefan asked, puzzled.

"It reminds me how much I hate not knowing things," Damon said, a familiar scowl developing on his face. "And how I _hate_ that devil woman who sent us here. The place looks utterly empty."

Stefan went round to the boot of the car and started unloading weapons.

"We should at least check it out," he replied, eager to be actually doing something physical, even if it was just handling weapons.

"There's something about this place I don't like," Damon suddenly said, his scowl deepening. "It feels…wrong, somehow. It's a feeling I can't quite place but I _know_ it! Damn it, I know it!"

"Calm down," Stefan commanded. "Look, let's check the place out ok? We'll try and figure out that particular mystery later. Let's go save Elena."

Elena's name seemed to stir Damon into life again. He strode over to the boot of the car, ignoring all the smaller weapons, before reaching for the massive gun which stored vervain bullets. He clicked it into life, stroking it fondly as he realized its presence would surely save Elena.

"Don't forget what I said before," Stefan told Damon sternly.

"You said so many things, Stefan," Damon sighed, "and to be honest I wasn't really listening. You'll have to remind me."

"We save Elena first before killing this Elijah guy," Stefan reminded him huffily. "One of us can get her out to safety and the other will try and divert his attention long enough for the other to come back and stake him."

"Nice plan," Damon grinned. "It's short, easy to remember."

"You are taking this seriously aren't you?"

Damon narrowed his eyes, not liking Stefan's tone.

"What are you suggesting?" he demanded. "That I'm not taking this seriously?"

Stefan groaned. "We can discuss family issues later, Damon. Let's just get to the rescuing part."

"Right." Damon's grin was back in place. "Let's do it!"

They split up from each other, Damon taking the front this time, whilst Stefan lurked around the back. He vaguely noticed the cellar window but thought nothing of it, his thoughts intent on finding Elijah and Elena, whichever came first. He lurked at the door, reaching out a hesitant hand as he slowly opened it. A cold draft came bursting out the door, which was weird, but he moved past it.

Stalking through the corridor, he noticed how quiet the place was. Surely, if Elena was here, she'd have made some kind of noise by now to attract attention? There were two possible theories he could think of for the silence: one, if she had heard the door open, her thoughts might not have immediately jumped to him and Stefan; two, she was under compulsion to stay quiet.

Damon's hand dove into his pocket and retrieved the necklace he'd located in the other house, feeling a little edgy as he realized what he actually held in his hand was Elena's free will. Without it, she was helpless and could be coerced into doing anything. He hadn't mentioned the necklace to Stefan for the same reason he hadn't mentioned the phone call: it would just create more unnecessary frown lines on Stefan's already overcrowded forehead.

"Where are you?" he muttered, keeping his grip on the gun tight.

He opened a door on the right and saw a winding staircase which went downwards. He recalled Elena's voice had sounded echoey on the phone, suggesting maybe she was in some kind of room which was unfurnished and empty…like a cellar.

Feeling thrilled by his logical mind, he stalked his way down the stairs, listening out for any signs which would indicate Elena was down here. He kept quiet, keeping to the shadows like those old time spy movies instructed, and lowered the gun a little, not wanting to frighten Elena if she was down here.

He wandered down this little corridor, observing all the while that it was like a dungeon, which was creepy. He then came across a couple of doors and noticed they had iron bars on the little windows fixed to the door. It was definitely an image which had popped up straight from the pages of a history book, or out of some kind of twisted fairytale.

With a sharp turning movement which could've put any action hero to shame, Damon glanced into both of the rooms and his eyes widened with disbelief.

They were _empty._

They were the only two rooms in this dark, miserable corridor, and he doubted very much that Elena was hiding from him. All the same, he strode down the corridor and back, frustrated when the searched proved fruitless. Scratching his head, Damon decided to try going back upstairs, thinking maybe it was just in his head that he could feel Elena's presence down.

He walked back up the stairs only to run into an equally desperate and frustrated Stefan.

"Anything?" Damon demanded.

Stefan shook his head. "No one is here. House has been empty for some time, it seems."

Damon growled underneath his breath.

"That bitch is dead," he declared.

"She sure is," Stefan agreed, to his shock. "This is a dead end!"

"Wait a second…" Damon held up a hand and started walking around in a bizarre type of manner, as though he were testing the air or something.

"What?" Stefan asked impatiently.

"There's a spell on this house," Damon declared, his eyes narrowing into slits. "I recognize the whole voodoo feel of it."

"A spell? Like witchcraft?" Stefan asked, his frown deepening.

"Yes, they generally go hand in hand," Damon responded sarcastically. "I can't say for sure what spell they've used though. It proves my theory though." He saw Stefan's questioning look and sighed. "The other side have a witch on their side."

"Oh God," Stefan groaned.

"Yep." Damon popped the 'p', a look of frustration emerging. "I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that they've cloaked the place so that we can see it, but not what's inside. Or rather _who's_ inside."

"Damn it," Stefan muttered.

"We could look at the bright side." Damon changed tone. "At least we know this is the right house. Which means that little bitch was right," he added sourly. "And I was so looking forward to mounting her head on top of my fireplace."

He kicked the wall in frustration.

"He knew we were coming," he spat bitterly.

"We might need some more numbers," Stefan said thoughtfully. "I don't think this is something we can do alone."

"I think you're right," Damon said, gazing at his brother with an equally thoughtful look on his face. "But how exactly are we going to convince other vampires to help fight something they're not even involved with? Most vampires I've come across would turn to ashes at the mere mention of the Originals."

Stefan bit his lip and looked even more anxious.

"Maybe we don't necessarily need other vampires," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe we need others."

"What are you suggesting, conscripting other witches and the like on our side?" Damon snorted. "Get real, Stefan. Bonnie's the only witch who would help, and even she doesn't entirely trust us."

"She doesn't trust _you_," Stefan corrected.

"Whatever," Damon snapped, looking unconcerned. "The point is we're on our own in this. Other vampires won't help because, somehow, I don't think they'll dislike the idea of being able to walk around in the sun. Witches won't help because they only protect their own."

Stefan let out a frustrated noise and slammed his gun onto the ground, wishing Damon wasn't right. He'd seen movies and read books where every element of the supernatural would unite to prevent some sort of apocalyptic event but he knew reality was never that simple. Even if they had some sort of spell on their side, which he couldn't really ask of Bonnie, it was unlikely they could rouse anyone. Witches were scattered here and there, presumably to avoid contact with any other supernatural being – namely vampires – and other vampires were hard to locate. It wasn't like they all came with a big label around their necks, something he'd pointed out to Elena when she'd once asked why they couldn't sense each other.

"So, what now?" he asked. "We just sit around and wait for something to happen?"

"We get Bonnie here," Damon said grimly, "see if she can undo the spell."

"What if she can't?" Stefan asked quietly. "The spell might be too strong for her…"

"I don't know, Stefan!" Damon yelled, looking angry. "I don't have all the answers here, ok? I hate being in the dark like this but we won't get anywhere if you keep questioning me like this!"

Stefan looked at Damon with alarm, wondering if maybe he was pushing Damon too much for answers he couldn't give. Still, it was unusual to see Damon snap like this and not lash out at someone as a means of directing his anger in a more…constructive direction.

"Look, we need to go back to the house and figure this out," Damon said, in calmer voice. "We'll call Bonnie and that annoying pipsqueak Jeremy and maybe Alaric and we'll all sit down and have a nice chat."

"What about the house?" Stefan asked. "Shouldn't we get someone to survey it, wait for something to happen?"

"Good idea," Damon agreed. "We'll get Alaric to stop on by. He's a human and he's neutral in all of this, so it's unlikely this Elijah guy will suspect him, although we'll make sure he's armed either way."

With a plan in mind, they both got back into the car and drove towards the boarding house. Damon suddenly braked, however, when they noticed the police cars outside Elena's house.

Damon stepped out of the house and saw a shaken Sheriff Forbes walk towards him, her face paler than normal.

"Liz, what's going on?" he demanded. "Has something happened to Elena?"

Sheriff Forbes glanced at a sobbing Jenna, who was being comforted by an equally pale and shaken Alaric.

"We found Elena Gilbert's body up by the Lockwood estate," she said, her voice nothing but a nervous whisper. "She looked in a pretty bad way."

Damon's eyes widened and he looked at Stefan, whose face, for once, was completely expressionless.

"What are you saying?" he asked roughly.

"Elena Gilbert is dead," Sheriff Forbes told him, tears coming to the corner of her eyes.

* * *

**A/n: DUM DUM DUUUUUUUM! I love cliff-hangers lol! Is Elena really dead? Is she a vampire? What in the name of all that is good and holy has happened? Don't worry, I won't be too cruel and drag out the update…or maybe I will! Keep reviewing and maybe that update will come sooner than you think. **


	7. Dead Wrong

_Chapter 7: Dead Wrong_

_

* * *

_

She watched with a fluttering heartbeat as Jeremy brought across their drinks, wondering how she could possibly feel this way after everything that had had happened. She tried to look at him objectively, as Elena's kid brother, but the fact was he wasn't a kid anymore. He was this mature, responsible, brave…man.

"You checking me out?" Jeremy teased, handing her coffee over.

"No," Bonnie replied, staring down at the murky brown liquid, avoiding his gaze. "I was just waiting for my drink."

"Uh-huh…" Jeremy looked less than convinced.

Bonnie smiled, gazing around the room and suddenly feeling a warm glow surround her. It was surprising she could feel this way again, especially since the last creep she'd liked had turned out to be a psychotic vampire bent on using her to undo the spell on the tomb.

She frowned as she caught sight of a group of girls from their year discussing something, all of them wearing matching solemn expressions. One girl, who she vaguely recognized from history class, seemed to be on the verge of crying. All she could think of was that they were friends of that girl Sarah, the one who had died a few days ago, or even Aimee Bradley, which was a much more logical thought considering her disappearance was a much more recent piece of news.

Judging by Jeremy's frown, he'd spotted the girls too.

"What do you think they're all upset about?" he asked, his expression thoughtful.

"Aimee Bradley, I suppose," Bonnie replied, equally as thoughtful. "I don't think anyone knows about Elena yet."

Jeremy's frown deepened as he studied one of the girls closer. The tallest one, wearing a high ponytail seemed to be staring at him, an unmistakeably sympathetic expression on her face. He recognized her as being one of the girls who, like Tyler, had tried to make his life after his parents' death hell because of the fact he was an outsider. _When you're different, and surrounded by the people you love,_ he'd realized_, people don't pick up on the fact that you're different until all of that has been stripped away._

"I don't think it's about Aimee…" he said slowly.

The pair of them watched with wary eyes as the tallest girl approached. She had red eyes and a pale face, and, without knowing why, Jeremy felt a trickle of fear crawl down his spine. He looked to Bonnie for answers, but she seemed to have no ideas as to why this grief stricken girl was walking towards them – none she liked to think about, anyway.

"Hey, Jeremy," the girl said, her voice sounding raw with emotion.

"It's Claire, right?" Jeremy asked, his voice tight with tension. "What's up?"

"You might want to go home," she said gently.

"Why?" Bonnie asked, taking over for Jeremy. "What's happened?"

"It's your sister," Claire said, ignoring Bonnie. "I don't want to say anymore than that. It's not my place."

There was a brief moment where Bonnie and Jeremy stared at each other, every scenario possible spinning through their mind, both of them refusing to move for the moment. Then, without warning, they simultaneously rose to their feet, as fluently as ghosts, and started to run like the Devil was chasing them.

They didn't stop until they reached his house. They couldn't help but stop anyway, both of them frightened into silence by the cluster of police cars there were around the house. Bonnie grabbed Jeremy's hand, who seemed too stunned to notice, and both of them moved forwards together, unable to formulate words to ask the nearest police officer, who was talking grimly into his walkie.

They wove their way through the solemn procession and walked into the house, the faint sounds of a woman crying reaching their ears.

"Jenna?" Jeremy asked, dropping Bonnie's hand and racing forwards.

He saw her with Sheriff Forbes, who was doing her best to comfort her.

"Jeremy," Jenna sniffed, noticing him. "Come – Come sit down. You're not gonna like what I'm going to tell you."

"I think I can handle it," Jeremy said, refusing to sit.

He'd already sat down in front of Sheriff Forbes before, when she'd told him and a numb Elena that their parents were gone. He'd done the same thing when she'd told the family of Vicky that she was dead. Hell, he'd done the whole sitting down thing because he couldn't think of anything else to do, and because he'd felt too deflated to do much else.

"They found Elena," Jenna said, respecting Jeremy's wishes. "It's…It's not good news, Jer."

"What?" Bonnie snapped. "What are you saying? Is she - ?"

"I'm afraid so, Bonnie," Sheriff Forbes gently intervened. "I won't tell you the condition we found her in. All you need to know is she's gone."

"How?" Jeremy demanded. "Look, you don't need to sugar-coat it, Sheriff. I can handle it."

But he was squeezing his hands into fists so hard, his knuckles had turned white; and his insides felt like the inside of a marshmallow, like there was nothing solid there whatsoever; not to mention there was a very good chance he could break right about now, a fact not even Bonnie's presence could change.

"Her neck was broken," Sheriff Forbes said bluntly. "Right now, we're putting the whole matter under investigation. We might need to look around the house for the next few days, see if there are any clues. Do you guys have a place to stay?"

"Yeah, they can stay with us," a new voice said.

Jeremy turned to see a grim looking Damon hovering by the door. How long he'd been there, Jeremy didn't know, but he suspected he was hiding something. He suddenly brightened, wondering if it wasn't Elena they'd found, but Katherine instead. He met Damon's eyes and silently asked that question, his whole chest collapsing when the vampire ever so slowly shook his head.

"No, I couldn't intrude…" Jenna began.

"Believe me, Jenna, it's the _least_ me and Stefan can do," Damon interrupted, his mouth threatening to burst with all the unspoken words he clearly wanted to say. "We have spare rooms at the boarding house. I won't take no for an answer."

Jenna nodded wearily, clearly too exhausted and grief stricken to argue. She stood up slowly and then sat back down, too weighed down by her own grief to be able to do anything productive. It was like watching Bambi learning to walk, only without the cute factor, Jeremy observed quietly.

"Want me to help you up to bed?" Alaric asked Jenna quietly.

"Please…" she groaned. "Maybe I'll wake up and find out none of this happened. But if I wake up and I'm still dating that scumbag, Logan…"

She trailed off as Alaric gently helped her to her feet. He gave Damon a similar look that Jeremy had given him – an _is it really Elena?_ look – before scurrying Jenna out of the room before she began to suspect there was something bigger going on. Jenna's lack of involvement in the whole supernatural thing had been something they'd all agreed on – in fact, it had been the _only_ thing they'd all agreed on.

"Thanks, Damon," Sheriff Forbes said gratefully. "I wish I didn't have to do any of this. They've been through enough over this past year. It's…"

"…what needs to be done, I get it," Damon finished.

Sheriff Forbes gave him a weak smile before exiting the room to go and talk to some of her staff, leaving Damon, Jeremy and Bonnie alone in the room together.

"Where the _hell _have you been?" Jeremy was first to talk. "You've left us completely in the dark!"

"We've not had time to _chat,_ Indiana Jones!" Damon snapped. "We've basically been on a wild goose chase and actually being _productive_, whilst you and the witch have basically been searching for things that _don't help whatsoever._"

"A 'thank you for the help anyway' would've been nice," Bonnie said coldly. "But of course you don't _do_ nice, do you?"

"Are you _sure_ that's not Katherine?" Jeremy demanded. "I mean, you might've made a mistake. Did you even check the tomb?"

"We've checked. Unfortunately, that little bitch is still in the tomb," Damon replied bitterly. "We have a theory which Stefan is trying to prove right now."

"What theory is that?" Bonnie asked, her voice still thick with ice.

"We came across a house on the other side of the woods," Damon explained, feeling weary, somehow. "There was a spell on it, we think, to hide something. Or rather someone."

"Elena could be there!" Jeremy cried.

Damon nodded. "If there's a spell that can make a house appear empty, why not have a spell that can make someone appear dead?"

"Do you think she's alive then?" Jeremy croaked. "'Cause honestly…I don't think I can take losing someone else."

"I don't know," Damon replied wearily. "It's a long shot, but I'm not giving up anyway. I don't know how exactly he can _prove_ it's a spell…"

"A spell detection spell," Bonnie said automatically.

"Of course," Damon muttered. "You witches have a spell for _everything._"

"Including ones for taking down vampires," she reminded him. "If you take me to her…body," she faltered on the word, "I can tell you whether or not a spell has been used to make it look like she's dead."

"What if that isn't her though?" Jeremy asked suddenly. "What if it's just a spell to make it _look_ like it's her?"

"Then the spell will find that out," Bonnie said smoothly. "Let's not lose our heads over something we don't know."

"Even if we find out she's alive, she won't be able to come back," Jeremy pointed out. "The whole town thinks she's dead. What are we going to do, tell everyone it was just some psychotic vampire who made it look like she was dead?"

Damon and Bonnie digested this in a kind of stunned silence, neither of them actually having thought far enough ahead to reach this conclusion. Damon scratched his head and tried to look unconcerned.

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it," he said. "Now, come on. Let's get going before I wake up and realize how horrible an idea this all is…"

* * *

Stefan, meanwhile, was already at the morgue, hating the whole place. He hated the fact her body was even here, when she should've been alive and safe like he'd promised to keep her. He'd completely failed her.

Tears filled the corner of his eyes. Even though he was pretty sure this wasn't actually Elena who lay here, they still were no closer to actually finding her. She would soon be in the hands of someone who was more concerned with ending her life than preserving it, and in the process using her blood for a dark purpose.

"Hey," Damon suddenly said, entering the room. "Did you compel the security guards?"

"All three of them," Stefan replied gloomily.

"Did it _work?_" Damon pressed. "I don't know whether you've been taking enough blood for those powers to actually…"

"It worked!" Stefan snapped.

Bonnie and Jeremy followed Damon into the room, both of them taking an involuntarily gasp of air when they saw what appeared to be Elena's body. Bonnie's eyes also filled with tears, and she momentarily turned away.

"Are you ok to do this?" Jeremy asked her in a low voice.

"Sure," she said, though she sounded uncertain.

"I don't know if you can…"

"Jeremy…" She pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. "I'll be fine.

"As much as I _hate_ to interrupt this cornerstone of _love_," Damon said sarcastically. "Can we actually do this _today?_"

"Saying please never hurt," Bonnie snapped, but stepped closer to the body.

She closed her eyes and laid her hand a few inches above the body. She murmured a few words no one else could understand, or hear, and concentrated with all her heart and might, drawing up a few memories of Elena to summon more emotion to make the spell work.

After a few moments, she broke free and stared at the body.

"If there's a spell on it, I should have broken it," she said slowly. "I forgot that when one witches' spell is cast against another, it repels the original one depending on which one is the more powerful."

They all craned their heads to peer at the body, all of them hoping against hoping some kind of change would occur. They waited patiently; minutes passed; the ticking of the clock seemed to get louder and louder; everyone's heartbeats – those that still had heartbeats that was – seemed to increase with the pressure.

"Why hasn't anything happened?" Stefan asked.

"Maybe the spell was more powerful than I thought. I'll try again," Bonnie offered.

She repeated the procedure, this time pouring every single piece of energy she possessed into it. She became aggravated when those results produced nothing. She tried again, and again, each time becoming angrier and angrier.

"Bonnie…" Jeremy confronted her like a fellow surgeon would confront another after a failed attempt to revive someone. "It's not working."

"No!" she yelled, pushing him away. "I've gotta try. It's obviously something I've not done right…"

Everyone watched her as she tried a few more times, neither of them having the heart to tell her – or, indeed, themselves – that maybe the spell detection spell wasn't working because there was nothing to detect.

"Bonnie…" Damon grabbed her shoulder. "Stop."

He expected her to put up resistance but she deflated under him. He felt her body start to shake violently and he gently turned her around so that she was facing him. Her lips tried to form words but her body was shaking far too much for her to be able to do that.

"I won't believe that's Elena," Jeremy raged, raw emotion audible in his voice, "that is _not_ my sister!"

He promptly stormed out, leaving a shaking Bonnie to follow him, leaving Stefan and Damon alone with Elena.

"What do you think?" Damon asked him quietly.

Stefan didn't reply. He looked dead.

"Stefan, you _know_ this doesn't make sense, right?" Damon pleaded. "I mean, she can't be dead. Elijah wouldn't kill her – he _needs_ her! He was bringing her to Klaus!" He grew angrier. "Stefan, damn it, tell me you know this doesn't make any sense!"

"We don't know for sure that's what he wanted to do, Damon," Stefan eventually replied, his voice sounding utterly lifeless. "For all we know, killing her was what his grand plan was."

His eyes found Elena as he spoke; he seemed to possess no interest in anything but her. He moved as if he was going to go to her, then he started to smash the room up in his rage. He yelled obscenities Damon didn't even know he knew and seemed to show no mercy on everything.

When he eventually calmed down enough to see what the worst of his emotions had done, he fled the area, unable to give his brother even a fleeting parting glance; so eager was he to get away from this nightmare.

Damon stood there for a moment, unable to react. Unlike the others, he wasn't able to process what had actually happened, and so enjoyed a few moments of blissful ignorance.

Then, a startling sound burst out from his chest. It took him even longer than it had to work out what happened for him to realize he was crying. They didn't gush down his face and he didn't make any sound to indicate that he was crying, but he felt something damp trickle down his cheek. He placed a trembling finger to his cheek, retrieving the treacherous tear and staring at it like he didn't know what it was.

He moved toward Elena like he was a ghost. He certainly felt like one. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt dead.

Raising one hesitant hand, he tentatively pressed it against her cheek and moved it up and down in a stroking gesture. It felt like a hundred years ago since he'd snuck into her bedroom and watched her sleep, stroking her cheek as tenderly as he could, eager to keep her sleeping, utterly fascinated in how peaceful she looked and revelling in how much she resembled Katherine.

"I guess I was saving this until I found you again," he said, chuckling nervously at what he actually was doing. It wasn't like she could hear him, after all. "But, I guess I've run out of time. I love you, Elena. Always have. I've tried fighting it for a while. It took me a while to realize why I was doing that. It wasn't to give you space, or to give me time to work out a way to win you over.

"It was for Stefan. He deserves you so much more than me." He brushed a stray hair from across her eyes. "I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to hurt you, Elena. If I've made you cry, it's only because in my own screwed up way I'm trying to impress you, make you see how much I love you. Sometimes it isn't about trying, though, Elena. Sometimes it's about letting go. But, see here's the problem, Elena. I can't let you go. I can't. I wish I'd never come to Mystic Falls. At least then you could have fallen for Stefan and been oblivious to all of this crap we've put you through. Even if it meant I'd never have met you. I'd take it all back if I could."

Damon sniffed loudly, realizing the last thing which was tethering him to the remnants of his humanity was gone forever. She was gone.

He hesitated before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the vervain-filled necklace and, ever so gently, looping it around her neck. Then, equally as gently, he kissed the top of her head, knowing that because that was the most he could ever have gotten away with when she was alive, it was the most he would do now.

But that didn't stop him gently tracing the shape of her lips with his finger, as if he was memorising them, before he fled the room in a similar manner to Stefan.

A good five minutes since his disappearance had passed when Elena's body twitched ever so slightly. Her fingers feebly stretched and her eyes flickered open for about a half a second, before she faded back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Elena woke up back in her cell, feeling more than chills greet as she yawned and stretched herself into life. The first thing she noted was how strange she felt. It wasn't a feeling she could put under the category of 'hunger' or 'exhaustion' or even 'misery'. This feeling seemed to have a category of her own.

Certain phrases and words came back to her in leaps and bounds, and she couldn't make heads or tails of them.

_"…Out of time... Love you…Trying to impress you…Take it all back, if I could…" _

She frowned, desperately trying to remember a little bit more than that. It was just a jumble of meaningless words and phrases…

Except they weren't meaningless.

Somehow, without knowing how, those words, even without the original context to put them in, meant the entire world to her. She cradled them inside her mind, yearning to protect them, yearning to remember.

"I'm glad to see our little trip hasn't disturbed you," Elijah's voice spoke from behind her. She was too used to his surprise visits to be particularly surprised.

"What little trip?" she asked, turning around to face him. "I've never left this cell. This _hell hole,_ I mean," she added bitterly.

"Harsh," Elijah responded. "I expected a bit more gratitude at the accommodation I've so graciously provided for you. I expect you won't remember the trip because you were unconscious for a good deal of it."

Elena rose to her feet trembling and having the sudden urge to strike him hard even though she knew it was a futile gesture which would accomplish nothing.

"What _little trip?_" she repeated, her voice close to a snarl.

"It was nothing." He shrugged. "I just had to make sure I threw your friends off the scent that's all. Don't worry," he added with exasperation, seeing her concerned look, "I didn't harm a single hair on their head. I have no quarrel with your friends, although I do find their incessant nosing around rather irritable."

"Nosing around?" Elena repeated curiously.

"Ah, of course, you wouldn't have noticed." Elijah looked rather smug. "Well, I do have certain…resources on my side, which, if I might say, have proven to be quite…er…useful."

She thought about those words for a moment.

"You have a witch on your side," she said with resignation.

"Yes. It makes me laugh how witches try and avoid helping out vampires, yet are so easily coerced into doing so," Elijah replied, releasing a scornful laugh. "They are weak creatures. Weak-willed, I mean."

"They are _good_ people," Elena snarled, thinking of Bonnie and her Grams.

"If you say so," Elijah replied lazily. "Anyway, the purpose behind my little visit was to inform you that you can relax a bit now. No one's coming. I've contacted Klaus and he's on his way."

Elena suddenly found she couldn't breathe. _Klaus was on his way?_ _So soon?_ She started to panic, wondering where Damon and Stefan were at this point. Surely, they had to be close by?

"Take it from me, my dear, no one's coming," Elijah said, somehow managing to read her thoughts. "But, look on the bright side; it'll all be over soon."

He let out a soft chuckle and unlocked the door as he slipped out. She barely heard him lock it; she had a lot more on her mind. She flew across the room and tried to pull at the bars on the windows and, when that had failed, started screaming for help at the top of her voice.

When that also failed, her hands flew to her neck with despair…until she felt something she'd not felt in a long time. Her necklace had somehow managed to end up on her neck again. She knew Elijah was the least likely person to have put it on her neck, and she wasn't so out of it that she didn't remember him ripping the damn thing off in the first place.

No. Someone had put it back on her.

The question was…who?

Thinking fast, she removed the necklace and doubled it up so it became a bracelet, which was something much easier to hide. She then went over to her food tray and took the bottle of water from it. She removed the cap and sniffed the water, which immediately proved her theory that it had been tampered with.

Elijah, it'd seemed, had knocked her out and taken her somewhere. Where, though? Why now? He'd told her no one would be coming for her...What if that was true? What if he'd done something which had made everyone she loved believe she was missing forever?

She flew over to the door and called out for Tyler, but she could hear his gentle snores and knew he wasn't likely to be any help.

"I've gotta let them know I'm still alive," she murmured to herself.

How? She had nothing with her which would be of any help. She couldn't scrawl out a message of any kind – there was no paper. She couldn't call anyone – her phone was in pieces on the floor. There was literally no discernible way of achieving help of any kind.

Elena let out a frustrated growl. There had to be _something!_

She glanced at the door and saw it wasn't quite shut all the way. That was the good thing about these old doors: they locked just fine but they couldn't quite shut all the way. It was bolted the other side, and, presumably, padlocked, but maybe she could prop it open far enough to squeeze out. Ok, it was probably a long shot but she wasn't going to just sit here and succumb to her fate.

She picked up one of the jagged pieces of her phone and made for the door. Because there wasn't a handle on her side of the door, she had to use her hands to find the edge and pull it out. To her surprise, the gap was wide enough to be able to squeeze through. She had her months of stress and anxiety to thank for her nimble and slim body. With some effort, she managed to wriggle free and took a moment to absorb her new situation.

She knew, however, she couldn't quite count herself free yet.

She could've run and not looked back but she couldn't leave Tyler locked in his cell. He was chained up, however, and it would take much longer to free him. It was a mark of her determination to give a little something back to the people who saved her time and time again that she stayed to help him.

Carefully, she eased the door open and wriggled through again. Tyler was sleeping fitfully, his thoughts obviously on one particular topic judging by the fact his hands scrabbled uselessly at the floor and his whole back seemed to arch upwards, as though he was transforming right in front of her.

"Tyler," she whispered, trying to catch his attention.

She reached out a hand and shook him awake.

"Wassagoinon?" he muttered sleepily. "Elena?"

Elena made the shushing gesture and tried to locate where his chains actually began. She found where the lock on them was and began to pick at it with the piece of phone she'd collected from the floor. It wasn't as easy as the people in the movies made it look. She wriggled it into the gap and waited for the click but she couldn't quite get it right.

"Give it here," Tyler demanded impatiently. "Girls can't do this stuff."

She huffed at his sexist comment but decided now really wasn't the time to pick an argument. All she could think about was how lucky it was they were down here, away from where Elijah could overhear them.

Tyler took a few minutes, but eventually he managed to free himself and they both wriggled out of the door.

"I don't think we can get out of here without being caught," Tyler whispered.

"I can't," Elena whispered brokenly. "He won't be expecting you to escape. You can make a break for it. You're fast, aren't you?"

"What, you think I'm leaving you here so you can be a vampire's breakfast? No way." Tyler was nothing, if not loyal. "If we're getting out of here, we get out of here together. I'm sure we've got the whole town looking for us."

They snuck up the stairs, both of them feeling quite terrified at the prospect of being caught. Once they'd reached the top, they heard Elijah talking, presumably on his phone, and were thankful he was sufficiently distracted not to check up on them.

"The front door's open," Tyler whispered in Elena's ear. "Let's make a run for it."

This was all going too smoothly, too perfect. Something had to go wrong. But she couldn't let negative thoughts delay them. Not now.

"Ok," she murmured back, feeling Tyler's warm breath at the back of her neck.

They ran with all their might out of the door – and she registered her surprise that there hadn't been a spell keeping them inside, refusing to look back. Elena managed to briefly outrun Tyler – it was strange how days of captivity could do that to you – until she found herself slamming into a familiar body.

"Damon!" she gasped.

"Elena?" Damon looked shocked, to say the least. "Is that…Is that really you?" He took her head in his hands and studied her carefully, trying (and failing) not to get his hopes up. "How did you…escape?"

"We staged a prison break," she said smugly.

"That's not what I'm on about…" Damon looked confused. "How are you _alive?_ I –"

He suddenly turned grim and immediately pushed Elena behind him.

"You," he growled, noticing Elijah walking towards him. "You're the one who's behind all of this you son of a - !"

"I'll be taking the girl back now," Elijah said pleasantly. "You seem to have her in your possession."

Damon tilted his head to one side and smirked.

"You son of a bitch," he breathed, suddenly realizing something but not wanting to frighten Elena with that particular epiphany just yet. "You think you're in any position to make any demands?"

Elena looked frantically around for Tyler but he seemed to have disappeared, presumably to get help, for which she was immensely thankful.

"I'd say so, yes," Elijah replied coldly. "Do you feel that?"

There was a sudden gush of ice cold wind and somewhere near by a crow flew out of hiding, launching itself straight towards Damon's face. Elena screamed with alarm and buried her head in the back of Damon's jacket. It was more than the cold, though. They could feel some kind of presence in the air, a presence which seemed to drain away their very hope, everything which tethered them to life itself.

"What the hell is that?" Damon demanded.

There was a loud rumble of thunder which rolled across the sky and, immediately following that, a group of bats seemed to take to the sky, even though it was still light. The area itself seemed to be covered with a thick fog, making it hard to make out anything.

"What's going on?" Elena called, although her voice was lost in the second clap of thunder.

Elijah smiled cruelly, his face looking strangely twisted, as though it was an unnatural gesture for him to make.

"It's Klaus," he said simply. "He's here."

* * *

**A/n: OH NOES! KLAUS HAS ARRIVED! The next chapter is going to be incredibly hard to write considering how little we actually know about Klaus. So, I apologize in advance if any of the facts are off. It's just pure speculation on my part. But, yay, lots more Delena next chapter! Damon's reason for being where he was will be explained. I found writing his speech quite heartbreaking in this chapter and ELENA ACTUALLY HEARD HIM SAYING HE LOVES HER. Well….sort of lol. That's a start hehe. :P thanks for the reviews everyone! **


	8. Klaus

_Chapter 8: Klaus_

* * *

She could feel the cold air clench all around her, if that was even possible. She inhaled deeply, but found that simple task was a struggle. It wasn't the fear which had gripped her, but the cold. It was _freezing_, and it wasn't even close to winter. Not really, anyway.

Elena gripped onto the back of Damon's leather jacket, searching for a sort of comfort even he couldn't give her. Not that it wasn't a relief he was here; she just felt a numb kind of horror that he was going to get himself killed trying to protect her and, honestly, she just wasn't worth it. But she knew Damon. Too well, in fact. He wasn't going to miss a fight and he certainly wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Maybe that was the problem: everyone she loved was too willing to sacrifice themselves for her. Why couldn't she put herself on the line for them?

"Klaus is here?" Damon was saying, unaware of her silent struggle.

"That's right," Elijah said pleasantly, as though they were talking about the weather rather than a self-serving psychopathic vampire. "Now, _you_, he has no interest in so I'm sure if you relinquish the girl and go on your merry way, you'll actually have a chance at preserving your life." His smirk widened. "But, from what I know of you, you'll do no such thing. Am I right?"

"Damn right you're right," Damon growled. "If this menstruating son-of-a-bitch wants to take Elena, he'll have to go through me first."

"Damon…no…" Elena hissed, shaking his arm violently. "You should just let me go…save yourself…"

"Are you _insane?_" Damon hissed back, barely glancing at her, his eyes on Elijah only. "No. I already let you slip away once. I'm not going to make that mistake again." She could read the guilt in his expression and fell silent. "Which means," He suddenly added, a hint of a teasing expression on his face, "when we get back, we're all going to handcuff you to the bed – not in the kinky way, although if that's your style…"

She stared at him stonily. "That's not funny, Damon."

A flicker of a smirk emerged on his face, and she sighed, realizing it was just typical Damon behaviour to wind her up within the first few minutes of encountering her. She was just too used to it now for it to have that much of an effect.

"How touching…" Elijah said softly. "You know, compulsion has given me the opportunity to hear the life stories of many a vampire who's been foolish enough to cross my path, but it seems your life story is easy enough to read without such an act."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked roughly.

"You've completely forsaken your very nature, Damon Salvatore," Elijah replied lazily. "Look at you – it could not be more _obvious_ – and pathetic – that you've fallen in love with a _human._ A very dangerous human at that, considering she's wanted by the single most dangerous vampire in _history._ And the oldest."

Elena looked to Damon for explanation for these strange words and he gave her an unfathomable look in return. He wasn't confirming Elijah's words…but he wasn't exactly denying them either. She couldn't wrap her head around them, and she was too cold to even try so, for the moment, she focused on the more pressing problem, which was Klaus.

There was a sudden change in the atmosphere after that. Damon stiffened and looked around swiftly, which alerted her to the fact that Klaus must surely be in earshot by now. She didn't like the fact she was the only one who couldn't see or hear him, and a strange desire to become a vampire fleetingly passed through her mind before common sense knocked it out again.

Then, at last, she heard the sound of footsteps. Her heart plummeted, as though it'd been hurled down a bottomless pit, and she started to shake. She pressed her face against Damon's leather jacket, a little surprised when his arm scooped her to his side so that they were locked in an awkward one arm hug.

After a few moments, he pushed her to the back and turned to face the danger, Elena still shaking behind him.

She peeped round and saw Klaus for himself, and couldn't believe her eyes.

You could've plucked any man off the street and he would've looked more menacing than Klaus did. He seemed quite jovial in appearance, although the broad smile he wore didn't meet his eyes. No, his eyes were the only cold and menacing thing about him. They weren't even a colour when she looked closer; it was like someone had taken all the colours and mixed them together to produce this vile, colourless splodge.

Maybe that was what was most frightening about him; that he was so terrifyingly evil that even colour fled from his presence.

He was clad in a standard grey suit – and she found that quite odd in itself, the fact he'd dressed up to meet her – and had bog standard brown hair, which had been gelled to the side in a similar fashion to Elijah. He looked well presented, well kept, and yet there was an aura of menace about him. She finally realized why no stories of him had reached Mystic Falls; he was, in a word, indescribable, and surely an invisible, seemingly far away, threat was far more terrifying than something you saw in front of you.

"Elijah." Klaus inclined his head briefly in his direction, before turning his attention to Damon. "Damon Salvatore, I presume?"

"Well, if it ain't the head bitch," Damon mocked. "The Holy Grail of the supernatural world. I'd say pleased to meet you but, you know, given the circumstances…"

Klaus didn't seem to react. Instead, he looked curiously at Damon, ignoring Elena's presence for the moment, for which she was thankful. His eyes, however, drifted lazily over to her, and she knew he was very much aware of her and was saving his little speech for her until he'd dealt with Damon.

"You know, I'd buy your arrogant, unfeeling act more if it wasn't so pathetically transparent and shallow," he remarked, his expression unfathomable. "If even half the things I've picked up about you are true, your place here is all wrong. I've heard about Seattle; that girl, Dana? Tut, tut…And I thought _I_ was cold."

Damon didn't respond, but Elena could see the muscles on his face tighten.

"I've done my research well," Klaus said, a thin smile appearing on his face. "Oh, I doubt there's a single female on this side of America who hasn't heard of _you._ You've made even more of a name for yourself than _me._"

Klaus began to circle Damon, effectively widening his gaze onto Elena, who tried her best to look defiant and brave, but she could feel her lips betray her as they started to shake, and she was pretty sure her eyes conveyed nothing but despair.

"And is this the little treasure I've been summoned to retrieve?" he murmured, his voice like silk. "My, my…You really are Katerina's doppelganger."

"Leave her alone!" Damon snapped edgily. "Look, you wanna take her, you're gonna have to go through _me._ How many more of you bastards am I going to have to repeat that message to before you get it?"

"As much as you amuse me, I grow weary of your teenage tantrum." Klaus snapped his fingers and Damon seemed to fold in half.

"What are you doing?" Elena yelled, terrified. "Stop it!"

Damon fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in utter agony, refusing to give up fighting on account of a little – ok, a _lot_ – pain.

"How are you doing that?" Elena demanded. "Vampires don't have those kinds of powers."

Klaus chuckled, stepping closer towards her.

"Most don't," he replied mildly. "I do."

She glared at him angrily and then knelt down to help Damon.

"You ok?" she murmured, relieved to see he had stopped thrashing in pain.

"Been better," Damon grunted, rising to his feet. "It'll take a lot more than a few hand tricks to get the better of me."

He immediately regretted those words, however, as Klaus suddenly appeared in front of him and, with what seemed like little effort, had flung him to the side, laughing when he slammed into a tree and slid down, a loud groan escaping his mouth, the impact having had more effect on him than it should've done.

"Stop it!" Elena shrieked. "Please. I'm the one you want. Just…Just leave him alone! Leave them all alone!"

Klaus immediately sped towards her, his face inches away from her own.

"Well, Little Miss High and Mighty," he said softly, "it seems you're about as different from Katerina as you can possibly get. There's a surprise."

His hand reached out towards her face, and she barely concealed a shudder of revulsion as it stroked her cheek a few times.

"Ah, ah, _ah_, Mr Salvatore," he said suddenly, outstretching a hand which seemed to send Damon flying backwards again. "There's no point playing a game if you don't abide by the rules."

There was a look of breathless excitement on his face, as though they _were_ playing a game. It somehow made her even more afraid of him, as she realized he didn't give a damn about anything but her.

"Please." She closed her eyes. "Leave Damon alone. He's just trying to protect me. Let him go and…I'll come quietly."

"Elena, _no!_ You fight, damn it!" Damon yelled.

There was a loud groan which followed that rather evocative statement, which meant that another dose of pain had been delivered. It was killing her inside to see him hurt on her account and she knew what she had to do.

"Let me do this, Damon," she said through gritted teeth. "I don't question why you and Stefan and everyone else try _so_ hard to save me. You shouldn't question why I would try to save all of _you._"

Klaus yawned loudly. "This is nauseatingly touching," he said. "We, however, have a schedule to keep. I haven't the time to break up feeble feuds like this."

He grabbed Elena's arm and, without warning, she crumpled, her body hitting the ground none too gently.

"ELENA!" Damon yelled, racing towards Klaus with fury, only to find an invisible barrier seemed to be surrounding him, protecting him from harm. "What did you do, you evil bas - ?"

"You, _boy_, seem to have forgotten your place," Klaus snarled, all pretence at looking friendly forgotten. "In my time, going against your species was a crime against nature itself. You seem to have forsaken your very nature and you're an outcast because of it! Unlike anyone else you've come across, I have almost a _century_ on you, boy, so show some respect!"

He made a twisting motion with his hand, and Damon let out an agonising yell, his own hand flying towards his chest. He could feel his heart being twisted and it _caned_ but he wasn't going to let Klaus have the satisfaction of knowing he had the upper hand.

"I'm…not…letting…her…go," he grunted. "I'll die…first."

"Maybe." Klaus looked indifferent. "It would be a waste, but there you go. You might hate me, might call me an abomination, but you and me, we're the same. You might be repressing it, but this is what you are, boy: an abomination. Unlike you, however, I'm not hiding what I am. The sooner you learn to accept what you are the better. For now, though…"

His hand hovered over Damon's face and seemed to contemplate something, before brutally rendering the vampire unconscious.

* * *

"Stefan…" Caroline sped into the boarding house, her face a picture of desperation and confusion. "I heard about Elena…Is it true?"

Stefan stood by the fireplace, gazing into the fiery depths and wishing the damn thing would just consume him already. It would be a pinch compared to the agonising pain he was feeling inside.

"Yes…" he replied emptily. "No tricks, no spells, no Katherine… She's gone."

Caroline digested this for a moment. He turned to face her reaction, and was surprised that she wasn't upset or…or… crying. She seemed perfectly expressionless and, for Caroline, that was extremely abnormal.

"I'm obviously getting different news to you," she eventually replied. "That's not what I've heard at all."

Stefan's face crinkled with confusion. "Caroline…what are you talking about?" he asked, trying to be gentle in case he was breaking the bad news to her. "Whoever told you otherwise is wrong. Elena's gone. I saw her body myself."

"Uh-uh." Caroline shook her head insistently. "I just saw Tyler in the woods when I was off hunting _Bambi,_ or whatever," her face twisted with disgust, "and he told me he's just escaped captivity with Elena but he lost her on the way. So unless the dead can run…" A look of realization dawned on her face. "She could be a vampire couldn't she?"

"Doubtful," Stefan said, pouring himself a drink, trying not to get his hopes up. "We saw her in the morgue and she'd been there at least a few hours. If she was a vampire, or at least transitioning into one, she would've been up and about."

"Oh." Caroline reached for a glass and eyed the bottle in his hand hopefully. "Well, Tyler says he _definitely_ saw her. I mean, they'd been sharing the same prison and everything! I mean, it would explain why he's been missing, right?"

"You say 'I mean' a lot," Stefan noted, taking a large gulp of his own drink before reluctantly pouring her one. "What exactly did Tyler tell you, Caroline?"

"That this vampire took him to some kind of house on the other side of the woods," Caroline began, and, finally, she had Stefan's undivided attention.

"Continue," he commanded impatiently.

She sighed at the interruption but, nevertheless, prepared to pick up where she'd left off, eager to do her bit to help.

"Well, apparently he knows about vampires and stuff and that I'm one," she explained. "I guess Elena spilled the beans on that one. Anywhere, this house he was taken to had these cells and that was where they were kept. But Elena managed to get out and helped him escape and that's when he ran into me. He looked around for her, but I guess he assumed she was behind him, that's why he didn't look back sooner."

It was Stefan's turn to digest this piece of news. Looking thoughtful, he finished his drink and set it on the table.

"If that's true," he said slowly, "what about her body? I mean, Damon and I _saw_ it. Bonnie tried to find spells that might've been cast on it and she came up with nothing. How do you explain that?"

"She obviously wasn't looking for the right kind of spell," Caroline replied, a little smug that she knew something Stefan didn't. "Or, maybe she missed something. I mean, she's not a perfect witch, right?"

Stefan resisted the urge to hit her with something. He could see where people – and by people, he meant Damon – found her annoying and insensitive. Sometimes, she could be. But that didn't eradicate the fact she was just trying to do something, play her part, and he couldn't blame her for that.

"Tyler said he saw this Elijah guy go into the cell when Elena was sleeping and got some of her hair," Caroline continued. "I think he might have a witch on his side too. Bonnie said there were more witches in the area, right?"

"Right…" Stefan said slowly, the realization sinking in. "Where's Tyler now?"

Caroline suddenly looked extremely sheepish, which immediately made him suspicious. Her lack of subtlety was something which apparently hadn't stopped just because her heart had.

"He's here, isn't here?" he asked, reading her like a book.

"I couldn't let him go home," Caroline explained, half pleading judging by her tone. "The whole town thinks Elena's _dead_ and the first thing he's going to do is blab to his mom that she's not. They'll all know some kind of hocus pocus is going on and start, I dunno, hunting us all down." She saw his face. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," he said honestly. "Actually, I'm kind of impressed."

Her face visibly brightened. "Really?"

"Yes," he replied, smiling a little at her expression. "I daresay even Damon would be impressed by your quick thinking." A sudden thought occurred to him. "Does he know me and Damon are - ?"

"Uh-huh." Caroline nodded solemnly. "I didn't tell him though," she added quickly. "I know I blab, like a lot, but I swear I didn't squeal. But he's ok with it, really."

_I bet he won't be ok with it if he finds out that Damon murdered his uncle, _Stefan thought to himself gloomily.

But they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

"Where is Tyler then?" he asked instead.

"Uh, right here," came Tyler's nervous voice, entering the room.

He couldn't have looked more out of place if he tried. He had this shifty look about him, which he'd been assured by Caroline and Elena had always been a part of his demeanour. His hands had been shoved into his pocket, further adding to his awkward appearance, and he couldn't seem to look directly in Stefan's direction. Despite Caroline's assurances he was ok with the whole thing – and, let's face it, she wasn't exactly the most reliable judge when it came to matters like this – it was clear nothing could've been further from the truth.

"Hey…" Stefan greeted him, sounding nervous himself having never had much contact with him before. "How are you dealing with all this?"

"It's friggin' insane," Tyler said fervently. "But I guess I'm handling it ok. Caroline's been a big help." He gave her a warm look Stefan didn't miss.

"You said you saw Elena?" Stefan pressed, eager to hear the truth for himself.

"Yep," Tyler reported. "We were in captivity together. I'd forgotten how nice she was…" he trailed off for a moment. "I feel like the world's biggest jerk for leaving her behind."

"It's ok, Ty," Caroline assured him. "We're not mad."

"She helped me get out and I just…didn't look back." Tyler sounded disgusted with himself. "We have to go back and get her right? We can alert the Sheriff and…and…my mom! We can get her back."

Stefan and Caroline exchanged a heavy look.

"It's not that simple, Tyler," Stefan explained. "The whole town believes Elena to be _dead_. If we waltz in there and say she's not, they're gonna know something more is going on."

Tyler scratched his head in confusion, evidently bursting to ask a lot of questions but there wasn't any time. Instead, he filled them in on what he did know and managed to get a few answers in return.

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly. "The transformation?"

"I honestly don't know," Stefan replied honestly. "I'd never even heard of the existence of werewolves before until a couple of months ago. I imagine it wouldn't be pleasant though."

Tyler swallowed loudly, his face flickering from white to grey depending on which horrific thought had entered his mind at that particular point.

"Elena told me about the curse these nutters are trying to break," he said, licking his lips. "She told me what breaking it would mean for vampires; do you think breaking it would mean that I wouldn't be a werewolf anymore?"

They could both see how desperate he was to cling to that idea, however ridiculous it might've sounded. They sympathised with him, they really did, but what Tyler did not need was for them to sugar-coat the truth. He needed the truth and a realistic approach on his situation, not to be mollycoddled like he was a child. They'd tried that with Jeremy and he'd bitten back quite fiercely.

"From what we've found out, all breaking it would do is relinquish the full moon from the equation. You could turn whenever and wherever you chose," Stefan replied quietly. "If anything, I think it worsens your situation."

Tyler nodded solemnly. "Right…"

He turned to one side for a moment, clearly holding back a wave of emotion, and then announced he was going to check in with his mom.

"You won't say anything right?" Caroline blurted out, looking quite horrified at her own insensitivity. "I mean, it's dangerous for her to know."

Tyler stopped at the door and gave her a weak smile.

"Who would believe me if I did?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly at the end of his sentence.

He exited the room and they waited until they'd heard the front door slam before they could breathe easily again.

"I feel terrible," Caroline said bluntly. "I should be looking after him. He shouldn't be going home alone tonight. I mean, we're all used to what we are right? He has no idea what he's in for."

Stefan rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, retrieving his phone with the other at the same time.

"It'll be ok, Caroline. We'll figure all this out," he assured her.

"Who are you dialling?" she asked suspiciously.

"Damon," he replied. "We need to catch him up on everything. You should be here for that. He'll want to hear it from you."

"And then he'll kill me afterwards," Caroline muttered. "He's not exactly subtle about the fact he wants me dead."

Stefan hid a smile as he retrieved Damon's name from the list of contacts on his phone. It could've just been the mood boost, or the fact Elena was alive, but he was suddenly able to appreciate Caroline in a whole new way.

In her own sort of way, she was well suited for this life. Much more so than he and Damon had ever thought was possible.

* * *

Jeremy paced up and down his bedroom, his bag half packed, his mind elsewhere. He could hear Jenna and Alaric downstairs, either arguing or making arrangements…Maybe both, he couldn't really tell.

Despite Damon's…generous offer, Jenna hadn't wanted to intrude on their own grief and had made alternative plans to go and stay with Alaric, which kind of worked out for the best. He, however, intended to take up Damon's offer, knowing if there were any plans for a showdown he had to be in on it.

"Jeremy?" a voice hissed. "Open your _damn_ window now!"

He looked curiously at the window and saw Damon teetering on the edge of the outside window sill and took a moment to enjoy that spectacle, before sighing heavily and walking across the room to push it open.

Damon hopped into his room and barely hid his discomfort at being here.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" Jeremy demanded.

"Which do you want to hear first – the good news, the bad news, or the even worse news?" Damon asked, not directly meeting his eye.

"Er, the good news I guess," Jeremy stammered, caught off guard.

"Predictable," Damon commented. Then added, "Elena's alive."

He took a moment to let Jeremy digest that, flopping himself onto his bed as he awaited the response to that evocative statement.

"What?" Jeremy was flabbergasted. "How? Bonnie would've found a spell if there'd been one, right? She wouldn't have lied about it!"

"Easy there, tiger," Damon said, holding up a steady hand. "Your infatuation for the little witch is as obvious as it is nauseating. I'm not blaming Bonnie. Elijah has a witch on his side too."

Jeremy struggled with that for a moment.

"Your bed is not as comfortable as Elena's," Damon added, bouncing on it a little to prove his point.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Right, thanks for that. So…she's alive? You've seen her?"

"That's where the bad and worse news comes in," Damon replied, looking grave. "Klaus is here."

That caught the little punk's attention, he noted grimly. Jeremy seemed unable to digest that piece of information and he took more than a few moments before he could compose himself again.

"Klaus…is…here?" he repeated faintly. "Are you sure?"

"Considering I've just had a showdown with him…and lost spectacularly, I might add…I'd say so," Damon replied wryly. "The worse news is he took Elena."

"WHAT?" Jeremy yelped, before controlling his voice. "What? You let him take her away? Are you an idiot?"

Damon immediately slammed him against the wall, his hand on his throat.

"This is getting to be a familiar situation between you and me," he breathed, "you up against the wall with my hand on your throat, ready to snap your neck. Be careful who you denounce as an idiot, because that _idiot_ might just remove that neat little ring of yours and snap your neck."

"No, you won't," Jeremy said, looking faintly smug. "You know why?"

"Enlighten me," Damon snarled, releasing Jeremy a little so he could answer.

"First of all, you came to _me_, so you obviously need my help with something," Jeremy listed, "secondly, you're not that guy anymore, although you're still a dick even at the best of times. And thirdly, you know if you snap my neck and kill me, Elena will literally _murder_ you. She'll hate you forever."

"Why does everyone use the Elena card?" Damon complained, releasing Jeremy with disgust. "Seriously, it's getting to be more than predictable."

"Because we all know how you feel about her, Damon. It's so transparent," Jeremy retorted. "If anything, these past few days have just confirmed what we already know."

"You know nothing." Damon was dismissive of the subject. "And you must have a death wish if you even want to _try_ and bring that subject up."

Jeremy concealed a smirk and decided to let the matter go. Damon would just deny it anyway and, really, what did it matter what he felt when Elena's heart would always belong to Stefan.

"You're right about something," Damon conceded. "I do actually need your help with something." He said those words through gritted teeth. "My _dear_ brother wouldn't understand what I want to do but you might. Considering you're eager to prove you're not as dim and slow as you look, I say you're an ideal candidate."

"An ideal candidate for _what?_" Jeremy asked warily.

"My plan," Damon said airily. "Look, I have a faint idea where Klaus will have taken Elena. He's not going to have removed her from the Mystic Falls area, because he'll want to end it where it all began, so my plan is to use someone to lure him out into the open, away from his little minions." He saw Jeremy's look. "He's an evil villain, of course he'll have minions!" he said impatiently. "The point is once he's away from them, we'll kill him."

"How exactly?" Jeremy asked critically. "He's not likely to be easy to kill is he?"

"Well, no," Damon reluctantly admitted. "But I have a theory. Stakes and fire and slicing his damn head off aren't going to work one at a time. We won't get near him long enough to even try. So, I was thinking we try all three simultaneously. Even if he recovers, let's say, from being on fire, he'll have to contend with a stake through his chest and the absence of his head. He won't know which way to turn…Quite literally." He sniggered at the image.

"You're an idiot," Jeremy concluded. "No way in hell is that going to work."

"It's worth a try, ok?" Damon snapped.

"It's not going to work."

"So you would leave Elena to be sacrificed would you?" Damon almost yelled. "Nice plan, Jackass."

"You know, I don't think you're in a position to be insulting me," Jeremy said, folding his arms. "You came here for my help and so far, based on the way you've treated me, I'm in no mood to incline. Of course I'll help in getting Elena back – she's my _sister_, no matter what some dumb piece of paper might say – but we'll think of another way. If there's one thing I've learned from all your plans is that this is not a one man game, Damon. If we're going to get Elena back and defeat Klaus, we'll do it _together_. I know that isn't your style, and all, but if you go ahead with this ridiculous plan, you'll get yourself killed and I know Elena would not be happy with that."

Damon seemed to digest that for a moment.

"Fine," he said indifferently. "I need to report back to Stefan anyway. If you can manage to persuade Bonnie to come, we'll have a staff meeting at the Boarding House."

He was about to disappear when he suddenly hesitated, looking both torn and aggravated at what he was about to say which, needless to say, made Jeremy extremely wary and nervous.

"For what it's worth," he said slowly, "thanks."

"What?" Jeremy looked astounded.

"Don't make me say it again!" Damon snapped, and then promptly disappeared.

Jeremy rolled his eyes again.

"Such an ass…" he muttered, before turning round to finish his packing.

* * *

**A/n: The arc of Klaus will extend for quite a while and there will be plenty more Delena fluff for you to enjoy over the coming chapters. The important thing I aim to do is to establish how to conclude this particular arc without doing it in a predictable and therefore unrealistic way. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Klaus doesn't strike me as someone who would look particularly menacing until you actually crossed him. Next chapter is when things REALLY start to happen, so hope you enjoy and keep reviewing! **


	9. A Matter of Blood or Death

_Chapter 9: A Matter of Blood or Death _

* * *

"Right; have we got everyone? Jeremy?"

"Is this really necessary?"

"Don't make me go ninja on your ass. Believe me, I've picked up enough over the years to pass off as one."

There was a heavy sigh.

"Here."

"Barbie?"

There was an indignant squeal from the other side of the room, which prompted Damon to raise a hefty eyebrow and give a swift, "Check". Then, after a brief pause, he looked at Caroline and then at Stefan.

"Remind me why Barbie's here again," he said.

"I have a name you know," Caroline fired furiously. "As cute as the nickname is, I'm not a total bimbo you know!"

"I have yet to see evidence which points to the contrary," Damon sniffed.

"She's _helpful_, Damon," Stefan explained. "If you looked past your prejudices and egoism, I think you might be surprised by what people in this very room are capable of when given chance."

"Ooh…" Damon whistled lowly. "Getting a telling off from my baby bro. Now that's a new low. Best shut my pretty little mouth and let you big boys get to the talking."

"How can you be so arrogant at a time like this?" Bonnie demanded. "Is it too much to ask for a _little_ maturity from you, especially when Elena's _life_ is at stake, maybe thousands more?"

He wasn't listening to Bonnie at that precise moment. His mind had wandered elsewhere in time when something she said triggered off a memory he'd shared with Elena. Admittedly, not a very happy one, but it was a memory all the same; something to hold on to during these dark hours their lives had collided into.

_"How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that's happened?" _

_"And how can you be so brave – and stupid – to call a vampire arrogant and glib?" _

_"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead already."_

_"Yes, you would."_

_"But I'm not…"_

_"Yet!"_

Damon's mouth twisted with pain as he remembered that earlier plan of his to hurt Elena to hurt Stefan. It'd been a mathematical certainty back then that her life would end in his hands and no other's. Now, not only had he fallen in love with her, he was putting everything and everyone he vaguely cared about on the line to get her back and keep her safe. It was a strange world he now lived in, where everything he'd hated before had, out of nowhere, all become something he wanted to protect.

"I don't do good," he muttered to himself, reminding himself of that scene he'd so desperately wished to be true, where he'd been convinced Elena had felt enough of a spark to kiss him back.

"What was that?" someone - it may have been Stefan - asked.

"Nothing." He snapped back into life. "Right, who has a plan that actually has a shot at working?"

"I have one, actually," Bonnie confessed, looking at him with nothing but suspicion he had a feeling he may have deserved. "But we're gonna need more numbers than this for it to work."

"Hit us with it, Bonnie," Stefan said, looking determined as always.

"It's not really that complicated, except for the first part," she said, breathing slowly to calm her frantic heartbeat down. "I'm thinking if we can find out where they've got Elena, we can trap them in there with a similar spell to the one which has Katherine trapped in the tomb. Only, once they're trapped, we torch the place."

There was a heavy silence which settled amongst the group. The general feeling was one of unease. A plan like that on paper seemed fantastic and foolproof, but in practice it seemed like one of those plans where every little detail could fall apart and completely screw up the rest of it. Even Damon, ever the risk taker, seemed uncertain about the plan's succession rate.

"Ok, Little Miss Action," he said, prowling next to Bonnie. "Walk us through the 'complicated' part of your plan. Sell it to us."

She scowled at him but nonetheless obliged.

"This is the tricky part," she explained. "See, we don't so much need to lure them _out_ rather than keep them _in._ But vampires aren't predictable like humans; they have no set routine, no calendar we can work by. So, one of us is going to have to go in and distract them, somehow."

As one, the whole group seemed to inhale sharply.

"Isn't that, like, a suicidal task?" Caroline blurted out, looking horrified by the idea. "Aren't you asking whoever to do it to basically _kill_ themselves for the cause?"

"No!" Bonnie looked horrified. "No, it's just this is a big spell. I need to be in sight of the house for the spell to work, so really I'm putting _myself_ in danger as well. I just need someone to make sure nobody comes out except Elena."

"How do we sneak her out?" Damon drawled. "I guarantee you they've got her chained up somewhere with a bunch of security vampires, no doubt, so waltzing her out of there isn't likely to be easy."

"No…" Bonnie admitted, meeting his eyes for the first time since arriving here. "It's a big risk, I know, and so many things can go wrong, but isn't it worth trying? Any other ideas we may come up with carry the same sort of risks, so we might as well try."

Jeremy looked at her gravely and she sighed in response, realizing what he was trying to tell her with his eyes. There was a definite chance they could all be killed doing this, and the question they were both silently asking was whether this was something worth dying for. This was no longer just about Elena but about protecting everybody they loved.

So, to answer that silent question, yes, this was a cause worth dying for.

"Bonnie…" Alaric suddenly stepped forward, having been silent for most of the meeting. "Why did you say we needed more numbers?"

"Because there's a chance this might not work," Bonnie said, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. "And we need as many to fight for us as we can because, if this doesn't go down well, there's not a chance in hell I'm letting any of those bastards get to Mystic Falls to hurt anybody."

It was like she'd undergone a transformation. Everyone who'd known Bonnie before this mess had all started now exchanged stunned looks at the complete confidence which radiated from her skin. Whereas before she would've shied away from something this apocalyptic, now she seemed to be leading the charge into battle, and even Damon had to work hard to hide a look of admiration.

"So," he said, cracking his knuckles. "When does this all go down?"

"Ideally, we need them to be as preoccupied as they possibly can," Bonnie informed him. "So, I'm thinking we do this when the moon is full and they're all concentrating on breaking the curse."

"What? No, Bonnie…That's cutting it a bit close, isn't it?" Stefan protested.

"I know, Stefan," Bonnie replied gently, "but it's the only way. If we try and attack before, they'll be prepared. They'll be guarding her very closely before then to make sure no one would escape."

"They?" Alaric questioned. "I thought we were talking about Klaus."

"Yes, but he's bound to have others working for him," Damon said dismissively. "The other Originals, no doubt."

"I think we need to do a bit of digging on these other Originals," Stefan said thoughtfully. "Find out what we're up against."

"I'll go back to Duke, see if that grad student Vanessa can shed some light on this thing," Alaric volunteered.

"Make sure she doesn't put an arrow in your back first," Damon remarked snidely.

"Oh, she trusts _me,_" Alaric shot back.

"What about recruitments?" Jeremy asked the room. "I mean, who can we even ask? It's not like we have the entire supernatural world on speed dial."

"Damon and I will take care of that," Stefan said grimly. "I'm sure if we hit the road we can rustle up some resources."

"What, another road trip with you again?" Damon rolled his eyes. "Super."

"What about me?" Caroline asked eagerly. "What can I do?"

Stefan seemed to contemplate this question very carefully, whilst Damon in the background mimed 'kill her' rather unhelpfully, which prompted Bonnie to scowl in his direction.

"She can come with me," Alaric offered. "I'll need all the help I can get and an unfamiliar face might be the key to getting Vanessa's help." He turned his gaze on Damon. "It's probably a good thing you're keeping away, Damon. We all know how your idea of helping goes down."

Damon shrugged indifferently, eager to end all of this talking nonsense and actually _do_ something. He'd had Elena literally in his arms at one point and he'd let her slip away. Whilst a part of him begged him to cherish that and keep on fighting, he felt tortured by the possibility he could lose her forever. And he knew what he had to do the moment they got her back – _if_ they got her back.

He had to tell her he loved her. He'd already done it, in a way, but he had to do it when she was awake and conscious and listening to his every word. Even if she completely rejected him, at least he would know.

"What are you and Jeremy going to do?" Stefan was asking Bonnie.

"He's going to help me practice the spell so I make no mistakes when we actually do it," she explained. "I'm also going to see if Lucy can help in anyway, although I doubt it. After what happened with Katherine, she's very reluctant to have anything to do with vampires. And I can't blame her for that," she added, turning her gaze onto Damon.

But he wasn't paying attention. In his head, he had his own insane idea, although he knew he had to be mental for even _considering_ it.

But it was for Elena. And she justified just about every single insane and/or suicidal plan imaginable.

* * *

Elena pushed herself into a sitting stance, her head spinning wildly. Damon crumpling was the only thing her mind kept playing over and over, and it frightened her that she was in the grasp of the vampire every other one seemed to fear and dread.

She tried to assess her situation. Her feet were shackled to the ground. No surprise there. Her hands were shackled as well, to a higher spot on the wall just above her head, which meant there was a dull aching in her arms. Once again, that was hardly a surprise. She was the doppelganger of the Petrova line; they would hardly treat her presence with carelessness.

The place she was in was a step up from the cell she'd been in under Elijah's care, yet still remained a prison hole. This one looked like a modern day prison cell, complete with a cheap, uncomfortable bed and a dull, grey furnishing to the place.

"Damn it," she muttered to herself.

How did she get herself into these situations?

All of a sudden, the door opened and the sound of heels caught her attention. A woman walked in, clad in the sort of attire you'd wear to a date, not a ritual. She had ruby red lips, ridiculously long earrings, and a short, backless dress which was obviously designed to be too revealing, almost along the lines of sluttish.

The woman herself possessed an hour glass figure, and looked as though she'd walked off the pages of a clothing catalogue aimed at models. She had soft, caramel brown hair which fell in curls and waves down her back. And when she spoke, her voice was deep and gravelly, not at all what you'd expect based on her appearance.

"My name's Irena," she purred, looking at Elena like you'd look at a meal. "I must say, I didn't believe the stories. Klaus has a way of…exaggerating things. But here you are, in the flesh: the Petrova doppelganger."

Elena was tired of hearing the same words over and over, so she didn't respond. She was tired of swapping prisons, of wearing the same damn clothes over and over again, and, most of all, she was tired of the whole vampire business. It just repulsed her now.

"You're very quiet," Irena observed. "Can I get you any food? Water? Klaus doesn't want his little pet to be deprived of anything."

She pinched Elena's cheek tightly and laughed, which was a terrifying thing to hear. It was soft, and it was cruel, and it contained every ounce of selfishness she'd come to expect from these monsters.

"You could let me go," Elena said blandly, not really expecting anything to come of that little request.

"Nice try," Irena replied, her false smile widening. "You're quite valuable to us, as you may have deduced by now. We didn't ever expect there to be another doppelganger. In fact, for decades we believed the Petrova line ended with Katerina. Fate obviously had different plans."

Elena didn't respond. She was too exhausted to try and talk to these people and, really, what good would it do? Every part of her _ached_ and she felt so hungry and thirsty that it felt like she was already dead. She just wanted to get this all over and done with.

"Why are you here?" she eventually asked, her voice toneless. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Nope." Irena popped the 'p'. "The ritual doesn't occur until the full moon. Luckily, that's only three days away. I'm here because Klaus wants to see you. He's very, um, interested to get to know you."

"Before he slaughters me? Huh, classy," Elena snorted. "You know, I think I'll pass. What with the fact that I hate his guts and think he should go rot in Hell with the rest of you sycophantic monsters."

She expected Irena to snap and threaten to kill her. Instead, the vampire threw back her head and laughed.

"My, my, Katerina's spirit certainly seems at home with you," she chuckled. "Oh, it's a pity we have to kill you. You would've fit right in with us."

"If the epitome of being a vampire is being cruel and selfish and…and…a monster, then I don't want any part of it!" Elena retorted. "I'd rather die with my humanity intact, than live centuries and centuries without it."

The smile on Irena's face faded a little and she seemed to scrutinise Elena carefully, before leaning in towards her, her lips curling into a mixture somewhere between a snarl and a sneer.

"I don't care who you really are," she sneered. "All I know is you're my ticket to freedom. To walking around in the sun again. And if you screw it up, I'll haunt your every dream, your every step until you go insane with paranoia. It's not exactly an old trick of mine."

Elena, however, had picked up on something.

"You can't walk around in the sunlight?" she asked with interest. "I thought all you Originals had those…those rings."

"We – We do," Irena said, sounding uncomfortable. "Most of us do."

"Ah…" Elena sounded a tad smug. "Klaus didn't trust you with one, did he?"

"Shut up!" Irena snarled. "If you value your life, I suggest you shut that pretty little trap of yours."

"You think you're high up in Klaus' chain, but you're not. He doesn't trust you. If he did, you'd have one," Elena goaded.

Irena snarled and her whole face seemed to change into something horrific, something beastly, and her fangs popped out into view. She launched her head downwards, with the obvious intent of draining her dry, but she never got that far.

A large stake had plummeted into her chest, resulting in her staggering backwards with alarm.

"Irena…" Klaus said warningly. "I've warned you about that temper of yours. It's going to get us all killed unless you're careful."

Irena nodded, and proceeded to pull the stake out.

"Must you use the stake to make your point?" she asked, her face flushed with humiliation.

"I could use fire next time," Klaus said, amused.

Irena dusted herself down, aiming a spiteful glare in Elena's direction.

"I was simply delivering your message," she explained. "The girl just…caught me off guard, that's all. Have you noticed she carries Katerina's fierce spark?"

Klaus turned his cold gaze onto Elena. "Really? How interesting."

"If you're gonna kill me, just do it," Elena said wearily. "Please…"

"How odd, you really mean that," Klaus observed, kneeling down so he was at the same level height as her. "You know, I can understand how Damon fell for you. You're really quite a creature, aren't you?"

She gazed steely at him. "Charming…"

"You know, Irena makes an excellent point. It would be a shame to spill your blood," Klaus noted. "But, alas; it's not in the cards I'm afraid. No, your role is of far more value to me. Irena….you may leave."

"But…" Irena protested.

"Now," Klaus snapped, his eyes flashing with purpose and strength.

Irena spared Elena one parting look of utter disdain before turning on her heels and storming out. Klaus, with one hand, closed the door and perched himself on the bed, his eyes on Elena's.

"As you know, the ritual must be completed in three days," he remarked. "Your friends will attempt to stop me – it's utterly foreseeable, and rather pointless. I hate having to spill vampire blood, but it's necessary."

Elena's eyes widened fractionally in horror at that thought. She didn't want her friends – her _stupidly_ brave friends – to die on her account.

"You are a _monster,_" she spat. "This is _horrendous_ what you're doing!"

"Yes, yes…" Klaus sounded bored. "I've heard this little speech before."

"Tell me something," Elena said, sitting up as best she could. "Why the Petrova line? Why is it _that_ bloodline you need to break the curse? Why?"

"Didn't you bother to do any digging?" Klaus looked faintly curious.

"I did some," Elena said defensively. "Just to find out what exactly you wanted with me and why."

"If you'd dug back further, you would've discovered the Petrova line is one of the most important family bloodlines in the vampire world," Klaus explained, his eyes fixated on her through the explanation. "It's funny, but if you looked at the record, all of your family on your mother's side ended up becoming vampires. It was in their blood." He chuckled at his own joke.

"That's not true…" Elena protested weakly.

"Your mother's a prime example," Klaus continued, ignoring her interruption. "Isobel, isn't it? She knew there was something better than mortality for her. She knew her destiny wasn't to be a mere human but something _greater._ Whether they were chased into it, or whether they took the leap themselves, everyone in the Petrova line ended up as vampires. It's a good probability, therefore, that had you not appeared on my radar, you would've followed that path too."

"I'd die first," Elena spat.

Klaus stared at her, a look of amusement appearing as though he was enjoying a private joke she wasn't privy to. She didn't care either way; she knew how this would all go down and she planned to go down with as much dignity as she could, protecting her loved ones into the bargain.

"Judging by your close affiliation with the Salvatore brothers," Klaus drawled, "I'd say there's _more_ than a good probability you would've ended up a vampire. Come on, can you _honestly_ say the thought of being with the one you love forever has never crossed your mind, never enticed you at all?"

She shook her head defiantly, although she was exactly being honest. Yes, it had crossed her mind at odd points, her being with Stefan forever, but just because she tolerated the supernatural didn't mean she wanted to be a part of it.

And, lately, that vision of her and Stefan together seemed to be fading away from her mind and her heart; and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"You lie…" Klaus sneered.

He had her hand on her throat and pulled her to her feet, his intense gaze on hers. For the first time in front of her, he'd dropped all pretence at being friendly and showed her the core of what he really was – a dark, supernatural being whose only reason for keeping her alive was to wait for the right time for her to die. She felt a sudden surge of hatred for all vampires, even though two of the people she cared about most were vampires. It just wasn't fair that they'd intruded into her life – her grief – and turned her whole world upside down.

But, then again, she'd learned a lot since that time. She'd learned a little about friendships, a lot about love, and a great deal about toughening up so that when the hurt and heartbreak came along, she could withstand it.

"It amazes me how you don't realize how much you and Katerina are alike," Klaus murmured in her ear, taking pleasure in her anger and pain. "You both have the same spirit, the same burning desire to defy me, the same affiliation with the Salvatores…The only difference is you have this weird, and rather noble, desire to help others rather than yourself. Oh, and of course you have a rather different preference to Katerina, who, if I remember correctly, doted on Stefan Salvatore."

"I love Stefan," she said fiercely. "I love him far more than Katerina ever could. She got him killed and she broke his heart."

"And what is it then, pray tell me, you are doing? From the looks of you and that elder brother, Damon, you seem to be heading in that same direction. He was ready to die for you, which is why I left him alive. I think it'll be interesting to see just how far that boy goes for you."

"That is…twisted." Elena felt sick at the thought. "You have me. Just…leave everyone else. Please."

"Or what?" He appeared to be enjoying the turn in conversation.

"I'll do something stupid," Elena said smugly, retrieving Katherine's little present.

Klaus stared at what she was holding at her hand, his gaze turning murderously angry.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, his voice remarkably calm.

"Doesn't matter." Elena folded her arms, glad to finally have the upper hand. "This is _blood._" She waved the small bottle of blood around. "All I have to do is take this, die, and then you'll never break the curse."

"I thought you said you'd _die_ before you became a vampire," Klaus pointed out sneeringly.

"If it'll stop you," Elena shrugged, "I'll do anything."

"I can swipe that off you in a second," Klaus snarled. "So, all of this is utterly futile."

"Maybe," Elena replied, looking unperturbed by his words. "You can take this blood away from me, stop me being a vampire, but I'll find other ways to stop you. I'm human and do you know what the most beautiful thing about that is? We're fragile; our lives can be ended in so many ways."

He stared at her with almost a flicker of fear in his eyes. She couldn't really blame him because the words she was coming out with were scaring herself. She was surprised at the lengths she was prepared to go to in order to stop Klaus – she wondered how she could hurt the ones she loved (Jenna, Jeremy, Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, Damon) like that – but it was like a switch inside her had flicked off, like it all didn't matter.

That realization right there was without a doubt the most terrifying thing she'd encountered so far, even topping Klaus.

* * *

"This is stupid, even by my standards," Damon muttered to himself.

He stood outside the tomb door and, with a heavy sigh, proceeded to open it. How he could even _think_ she would be of any help was astonishing. She'd ripped his heart out, stomped on it, and set it alight over and over again; she'd caused misery to Elena, taunting her cruelly and threatening her family; she'd upped the level of bitchiness her body could possess and managed to cause turmoil and chaos to Mystic Falls, his _home_.

With all that in mind, he began to wonder if he actually was going insane for doing this. Even if she agreed to help – and her word wasn't something he could exactly trust, which would be the first barrier to overcome – there was no way in hell he'd be able to convince the others – and by others, he meant Bonnie – to undo the tomb spell. And there was no guarantee she'd behave once she was out anyway.

"Why, hello, Damon," Katherine purred, her voice dry and barely above the level of a whisper. "Come to play?"

"Not really," he admitted, concealing a smirk at her condition. "Wow. Look at you – you finally look your age."

Katherine's smile only widened. "Ouch. You play rougher than I remembered, Damon. I love it. Did I ever tell you how _sexy_ you are?"

"Several times," he replied, "right before you ripped out my heart, got me killed, and decided to skip town without so much as a goodbye."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she pouted. "There, is that better?"

He speedily made his way over to the entrance so that only the invisible spell lay between them. His lips curled into a snarl, confirming that this was a bad idea.

"What would be better is seeing a stake through your heart, but, hey, I like this idea better," he breathed. "Death is too good for you, too merciful."

"Ooh, I like it when you're angry," Katherine breathed back. "It's really a turn on, you know?"

He laughed ironically.

"More fool me for thinking there was even a _part_ of you that could help," he said slowly. "I came down here hoping to find…Well, I don't know what I was hoping to find. I shouldn't have come."

He turned to leave but her voice, like many times before, called him back.

"Hey, now you've got me intrigued," she complained. "If you're gonna storm out like a teenage drama queen, at least fill me in on the goss. That's gossip, sweetheart," she added, with a wink.

Damon hesitated, wondering if he was doing this for the right reasons. His heart now belonged to Elena, that was a fact, but there was still a part of him – the stupid, reckless, insane part of him – which would still walk to the ends of the earth and back for Katherine. She was his first love – she wasn't something he could just forget, no matter how hard he tried.

And that same part of him believed she could help them.

"Klaus is in Mystic Falls," he said with resignation.

Katherine's whole demeanour changed at that moment. She let out a low hiss and retreated backwards into the tomb, seeming to find comfort in her prison she hadn't found before.

"So, I'm guessing you're not going to help," he called, fidgeting awkwardly.

"That would be a _heck_ _no_," she called back, her voice low. "Thanks to you and your friends, I'm the safest out of all of you. Why on _earth_ would I help? Did I seriously damage you that much that your brain stopped functioning?"

Damon growled and had to fight to remember if he lunged at her, he wasn't coming out.

"You didn't damage me, Katherine," he remarked, his voice a lot cooler. "You just woke me up to the fact you're a bitch. I should be saying thanks, really, but I don't really do gratitude, you know?"

He heard her shuffling footsteps and, within seconds, she was back at the edge of the tomb, expressionless.

"Do Stefan and precious _Elena_ know you're here, practically begging for my help?" she asked coyly. "Judging by the fact you're here alone, I'd say not."

"I do what I want," Damon said dismissively. "And it's kind of because of Elena that I'm here. Klaus…kind of has her."

"Well, she's as good as dead then," Katherine said, exhaling sharply. "And thank goodness for that…"

Damon let out a terrifying growl which echoed through the tomb.

"Shut your _mouth_ about Elena!" he yelled. "She's ten times the woman you'll ever be."

Katherine didn't reply to that. Instead, a look of incredulous delight fell across her face, as though all her Christmases and birthdays had come all at once.

"You _love_ her," she murmured softly. "Oh this is just _precious._ What will Stefan say?"

"You know what, Katherine?" Damon started to turn his back on her. "I'm gonna make sure when I next meet Klaus, he knows _exactly_ where you are."

"You wouldn't…" Katherine breathed, looking horrified.

"Hm, what is it you always say?" Damon pretended to think for a moment. "Oh yeah…Better you, than me; or Elena, for that matter. So, yeah, this is goodbye, Katherine."

He took a long hard look at her, relieved that her frightened demeanour had no effect on him whatsoever. It meant finally, after 145 painful years, he was finally over her. He was free of her hold – and it felt good.

"Damon…don't…" Katherine started to protest.

"Begging really isn't your style, Katherine," Damon interrupted coldly. "It didn't work on me the first time, and it won't work now. But please…continue. At least it proves once and for all how _pathetic_ you are. Goodbye."

For the second time, he pulled the door across her and, if anything, her screams were louder and more powerful. He'd finally found her weak chink; however, safe she thought she was in here, she was still frightened of Klaus learning where she was.

"DAMON!" she bellowed from the inside of the tomb. "JUST LISTEN! You hate me, fine, but it's not like I haven't tried to protect Elena. It's not like I've not tried to save her PRECIOUS skin."

"You're lying…" Damon snarled, refusing point blank to open for another pack of lies. "You ever thought telling the truth once in a while might have saved your skin, maybe earned you some friends who would've protected you?"

"I don't need friends," she hissed. "As much as I loathe that skinny little brat, I gave her some of my blood."

"And why would you do that?" Damon demanded. "Why, all of a sudden, are you dealing out the nice hands?"

"Because it would put a stick right up Klaus' ass if his human doppelganger was to become a vampire," Katherine said through gritted teeth. "Even if you can't believe that I would try to _help_, believe the fact that I would do _anything_ to ruin Klaus' life the way he ruined mine."

Damon had to grudgingly concede it was possible Katherine was just a big a hater of Klaus as he was, but it wasn't enough for him to open the door and give her a second chance at begging for her freedom.

"You know I really believed in you once," he said, his voice filled with a strange amount of emotion. "You were once the angel I couldn't believe was mine. I couldn't believe how perfect you were." He scoffed at his own idiocy. "And then you know what happened? I woke up and realized I don't need you anymore. I don't know how to believe you anymore, Katherine, when our entire relationship was, quite literally, a lie."

"I'm sorry for hurting you, Damon." Katherine sounded anything but sorry, which angered him. "I was working on getting you and Stefan out of Mystic Falls before everything happened but…What can I say? Plans fall apart."

"And bitches lie," Damon added tonelessly. "Yeah, I get it."

And, without saying another word, he left, ignoring Katherine's pleas and cries for him to stay so that they could talk some more. He didn't see how that would help in anyway. The more he learned about her, the more immune he became to her charms and her lies.

Really, all she was doing now was reminding him exactly why it was right that she was locked up in the tomb for all eternity whilst he was free to love again.

Feeling slightly more cheerful, even though his original plan had disintegrated, he went to go and prepare for his second road trip with Stefan.

* * *

**A/n: Thanks for the reviews guys and all the faves and the adds! You guys are awesome! The Damon/Katherine bit was interesting to write, and it gave some closure in that department. I think the Elena/Klaus thing was not my best bit here, due to the fact it is really hard to write Klaus without making him sound like a cheesy, overdone villain. But I like the fact I wrote him with an interchangeable personality. I also like Irena too. **

**Don't worry. The questions you've raised in reviews will be addressed as the story progresses. Keep reviewing everyone! Thanks for reading!**


	10. Something Worth Fighting For

_Chapter 10: Something Worth Fighting For_

* * *

Bonnie flicked through the Grimoire in search of the spell she required, all the while aware that Jeremy was staring at her. Ignoring him for the moment, she located the spell and read it through, reminding herself how it went. Even though she'd managed to do it for entombing Katherine, it couldn't hurt to get some extra practice in because this was a completely different situation they were dealing with here.

"Why did you lie to Stefan and Damon?" Jeremy asked quietly. "We both know you don't need extra practice at that spell. You just wanted to get them off your backs. Why?"

"Stop pretending to understand me, Jeremy," Bonnie said, avoiding his gaze.

"I'm not pretending anything," he retorted. "But if you're up to something, you gotta let me know. If it's to do with Elena…"

She glared at him, causing him to look alarmed.

"Look, I get that you care about me, Jer, I do," she said, turning her attention to the Grimoire. "But you've gotta stop…"

"Stop what?"

"Stop this. What you're doing," she replied, turning to meet his earnest gaze. "You think I don't understand why you wanna team up with me all the time? I do. But the closer you get to me, Jer, the more hurt you're gonna be if something happens." Her expression softened. "I know what happened to Vickie and…and…that Anna girl still hurts. I mean, my Grams is gone and every day it still hurts, because I know she was the one person I could always count on for advice."

"Don't do that," Jeremy warned her, looking pained. "Don't act like this is one sided, like I'm just a kid with a crush on his sister's best friend. Vickie did that to me, even though Tyler treated her complete trash, and I'm not gonna let it happen again."

Bonnie sighed heavily and realized she wasn't going to get through to him. Even though she liked him – a lot – she knew the last thing he needed, or wanted, was to get hurt again. She would protect him with her life – but she'd never tell him that, because it would only encourage him to follow her around like a lost puppy – and she knew he'd do the same for her. That wasn't a healthy relationship to have, surely?

"Look, at least tell me what you're up to," Jeremy persisted. "If it's something I can help with…"

"You can't," Bonnie told him flatly.

He glared at her.

"What is it with you and Elena and doing things alone?" he demanded. "What's wrong with letting other people help?"

She ignored him, continuing to scour through the Grimoire, flicking past the page which contained the spell needed to trap the Originals inside their lair. A hand locked itself on her wrist and, whirling round, she found she was face to face with Jeremy. They were literally only inches apart.

"Let me go," she commanded.

"No," Jeremy replied firmly, "not until you tell me what you're doing."

"I'm not up to anything," she insisted, trying in vain to remove her hand from his grip. "Jeremy…let…_go!_"

"No."

"Please!"

"Tell me, Bonnie."

"Why?" she burst out. "Why is it so important to know?" She looked at him with wide, Bambi-like eyes. "Tell me."

"Because if you're planning on doing anything stupid, I'm gonna stop ya," Jeremy said matter-of-factly.

Bonnie shut the Grimoire and looked at him seriously.

"There's a spell which is slightly more powerful than a simple trapping spell," she said heavily, her tone one of submission and resignation. "It creates these…flames which sort of spread quite quickly and engulf anyone in sight. But it's dangerous, not to mention beyond the range of my capability."

"So, there's a chance you could get hurt?"

"Yes," she sighed. "But it's a risk I'm going to have to take, Jer."

"There's gotta be another way. I'm not letting you put yourself at risk like that," Jeremy replied angrily. "It's suicidal and stupid."

"What, and the other plan isn't?" Bonnie snapped. "Jeremy, we're not talking about an ordinary case of vampire slaying here. These Originals are centuries old, very powerful, and they've got other witches on their side, which means they're not going to fight fair. So neither will we."

Jeremy struggled internally with that decision, trying to find an angle to argue from but he knew she was right. But he couldn't accept that she was right; because accepting it would've meant he was accepting the fact she could die and he didn't want to think about that possibility.

He leaned in, his lips just inches away from hers, and fixed his dark eyes on hers. It seemed like they were only a breath away from kissing but something held them back. Bonnie closed her eyes and gazed up at him, trying to tell him with her eyes what her lips couldn't – that she would be fine.

"Do you think Elena would want this? For you to put yourself in danger?" Jeremy asked quietly. "Cause, unless we're talking about two different Elenas, I'm thinking she'd flip out over this."

"That's exactly why I'm doing it, though," Bonnie replied earnestly, "so Elena _can_ flip out over it."

He pursed his lips but said no more on the matter, secretly promising to himself to keep a closer eye on her. He was like his sister in the way he sometimes worried about the lengths people would go to save someone they loved. But he couldn't really talk; he'd had some pretty daft ideas in the past of how to save someone he loved and was glad someone had talked him out of it.

"Fine," he replied eventually, his voice detached as if he was disinterested in the matter. "We'll do it your way."

But in his heart, he knew he had to stop this insane plan before it turned into a kamikaze mission of ridiculous proportions. If, God forbid, something should happen to Elena, he knew his sister well enough to know she would want everyone she loved to survive and not do anything stupid.

He didn't know why her wishes mattered now, when he usually made a point of ignoring them. She'd begged him to stay out of the vampire world and he'd ignored her. It just seemed now the possibility of losing her forever hung in the air, everything she'd ever said, ever wanted, mattered completely. And he was going to make sure, if it was the last thing he ever did, Bonnie knew that and understood that.

* * *

"This is cool," Caroline said, bouncing in her seat. "I'm _never_ allowed to do anything action-y. Damon always forbids it." She rolled her eyes. "Considering it's partly his fault I'm a vampire, he could at least take _some_ responsibility and, like, help me instead of treating me like some dumbass kid."

Alaric couldn't resist smiling. It sounded like she was talking about a baby they'd conceived together, not how she'd became a vampire.

"So, why did you pick me to help?" Caroline asked, smiling at him.

"Because I know how it feels to be on the end of Damon's patronising stick," Alaric said, giving a soft smile. "And I also know this is Elena we're trying to save. I know we don't talk much but I just wanted to let you know I'm around if you need any advice or…weapons to slay other vampires." He chuckled softly.

"Thanks, Mr Saltzman," Caroline said gratefully.

"Call me, Rick. Everyone else does," he told her.

"It's weird calling a teacher by their first name, though," she said thoughtfully.

"Really?" Alaric looked at her incredulously. "After all the stuff you've experienced and you find _that_ weird. Unbelievable."

She grinned, then turned her attention to the window.

"I really need to catch up with Tyler when I get back," she mused. "I mean, the poor guy must be completely in the dark about everything. He really needs a friend in all of this."

"I agree," Alaric replied. "I also…admire the approach you're taking with him. Damon, as you can imagine, has quite a, er, different approach to dealing with werewolves and anything he doesn't know about."

"Why doesn't _that_ surprise me?" she muttered, tossing her hair back in disgust at the mention of her ex-boyfriend, whose manipulative tricks still rang in the back of her mind.

They approached the university fairly speedily, Alaric having already driven there once. Caroline popped out of the car and glanced at the place, her eyes subconsciously seeking out any cute guys (which was, unfortunately, a force of habit based on, in Stefan's words, her 'magnified personality').

"Right, Vanessa's never heard of you," Alaric explained as they walked up the opening steps together, "so you should be safe. Don't drink anything she offers, though. It may be spiked with vervain."

"That stuff sucks," Caroline complained.

Alaric smiled. "Only to a vampire," he reminded her. "Which reminds me…"

"I know, I know…Keep my mouth shut," she said miserably.

"I didn't say that at all. I just suggest you keep certain…facts to yourself, that's all," Alaric said, raising a lone eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh! I can do that." Caroline beamed with delight.

"Good…" Alaric looked at her with bemusement but didn't pursue the subject.

They walked inside the university, Caroline looking bemused by everything, from the furnishing, to the wall displays, to the students themselves. Walking side by side, they made their way over to Isobel's old office, which seemed to have lost a few more items since the last time Alaric was here. He felt a certain detachment for the place. It just held living proof this nightmare he was trapped in was real.

"Rick." Vanessa popped into view. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon."

Her gaze hovered on Caroline, but if she had any questions about Alaric's choice of companion she never asked them. She had a friendly smile plastered on her face which Caroline instantly distrusted. This wasn't due to any insubordinate messages Damon may have indoctrinated into her; she just didn't trust her.

"Vanessa, this is Caroline," Alaric introduced. "She's one of my history students who is doing a paper on folklore and urban legends. I told her I knew someone with some experience on the matter and brought her here. I hope this isn't an inconvenience for you."

"Nope," Vanessa said with a smile. "In fact, you just booked me some time away from doing a very dull paper on the reasons why certain myths and legends change over time, and what distinguishing features of certain folklores change and which stay the same."

"That _does_ sound dull," Caroline burst out.

Vanessa laughed. "It is. Come on in, guys."

She invited them inside and they stood awkwardly at the door, Caroline's mind instantly travelling elsewhere in the vicinity of sheer and utter boredom.

"So, is this really about a paper?" she asked, once they were well out of earshot of any other students or professors.

"Not really," Alaric confessed. "We need to know if Isobel dug up any facts on…the Originals."

"Originals?" Vanessa questioned.

"The Originals we know to be this group of really old vampires," Alaric explained. "But that's all we know about them. Isobel took this stuff pretty damn seriously, so this must've been something she researched at one point."

Vanessa gazed thoughtfully at him.

"As I matter of fact," she said, "I do remember a book she'd made notes in which had something to do with them. Let me see if I can dig it out for you…"

She quickly exited the room, leaving a very awkward Alaric and Caroline standing in the middle of the room. Caroline proceeded, merely as a way of alleviating boredom, to scan the room, occasionally picking up the odd book and flicking through it absent-mindedly.

"This is the kind of place my mom wants me to get into," she told Alaric quietly. "I don't want to go university though. Other than the majorly cool parties, I don't really like the whole idea of it."

It felt weird, discussing careers in the middle of everything but it was just a random thought which had popped into her head.

"This is my ex-wife's office," Alaric explained to Caroline, feeling an unmistakeable pang at having addressed her as his ex. "I took Damon and Elena here when we were trying to find out about werewolves."

"Your wife was a supernatural nut, huh?" Caroline asked, gazing around the room with a begrudging kind of awe.

"That's an understatement," Alaric muttered.

Vanessa promptly returned and handed Alaric a dusty, leather bound book, which just resembled one of those notebooks you could purchase from any stationary store. He flicked through it vaguely, and saw it was covered in writing. He recognized her spidery handwriting and felt another pang in his heart.

"I'd never seen someone so obsessed by this stuff as her," Vanessa said quietly. "It was like it took over her life."

"It did," Alaric said harshly. He flicked through the book, scanning for any key words or sentences which might have been important. "Can I take this with me?"

"Sure. I guess it's your stuff now anyway," Vanessa replied. "The funny thing is the university has delayed giving her stuff away because they're still holding out on her returning."

"Huh…" Alaric had no response to that.

"I'm just going to make a quick phone call," Vanessa said, sounding apologetic. "I'll only be a few minutes. Feel free to look around and stuff…"

She hastily disappeared again.

"She's weird," Caroline commentated. "I mean _weird_ weird. Did you see her eyes? She looked so unfocused and stuff."

Alaric wasn't paying attention. He was too busy scanning through Isobel's notes, trying to dig up something useful. Mostly, it was just a bunch of facts about vampires she'd probably Wikipedia-d.

"Does this place have a bathroom?" Caroline asked suddenly. "I need to freshen up." She smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah, it's down the hallway, to the left," Alaric said, without looking up.

He heard Caroline skip off, and concentrated his efforts into finding something useful so he could help find Elena. She was a bright student and a bright girl and he was worried for her like a father would worry about his daughter. Plus, Jenna's distraught state of being was something he had to factor in as well. Her grief had been so bad as of late he'd actually had to slip sleeping tablets into her drink just to get her to have some rest.

All of a sudden, he had the sense he wasn't alone. Nervously, he glanced up and got the shock of his life.

"Hello, Rick."

He gave a heavy sigh. "Isobel."

* * *

Her dreams were weird. First of all, she'd dreamed about the trip to Georgia with Damon, only the bar they'd walked into had been completely deserted and, when she'd turned round to ask Damon what was what he'd bitten into her neck. Next, as if things couldn't get any weirder, she'd been running up a hill, the sound of snarling dogs being the thing she was running from. She'd tripped and fallen over, almost predictably, and then had been engulfed by the darkness.

She'd woken up, however, to something quite different. The words she vaguely remembered hearing whilst drifting between the states of consciousness and unconsciousness rolled around in her brain. They touched her and, at first, she was inclined to believe Stefan had said them. Who else could it have been? But the more she'd thought about it, the more she was sure the voice who'd said them had been gruffer than Stefan's. That just left Damon as a suspect.

For some reason, she was reluctant to buy that as theory. She was still _so_ mad at him for what he'd done to Jeremy. But, as of late, he'd been strangely kinder than normal, going out of his way to do things the old Damon certainly wouldn't have done. But did that justify all the lies he'd told, all the people he'd killed, or tried to? Crimes he'd committed hadn't mattered as much when she'd been friends with him, but now they served as reminders why she should stay clear of him.

Her heart and head seemed to be telling her two different things, and it was getting harder and harder each day to pick a side to follow.

She sat up, wondering how she'd managed to sleep. The shackles had been removed so she could go sleep, but she'd not had nearly enough to recuperate from her ordeal. Her throat was as dry as her desert, and her stomach growled at her at regular intervals. She ignored those needs for the moment, focusing instead on her need to know where Klaus was and why he wasn't here taunting her, or making her life utterly miserable.

With a groan she rose to her feet, staggering a little due to the fact she felt – and probably looked – dead on her feet. She checked herself and realized he'd confiscated the blood off of her. She'd had no idea why she'd even told him in the first place; it'd just been out of an insane idea to warn him what she was capable of doing. Now it was gone, which was only to be expected really.

Elena, without any expectations, tried the door. It was bolted and chained up with a few different types of locks, she saw, and it was pointless to even try to escape. She tried exploring the cell itself, checking for any loose bricks or anything like that. She should've figured they wouldn't have put her in a cell where there was even the slimmest chance of escaping.

She slid to the ground in despair, running her fingers through her dry and tangled hair as though that would help in any way. There was a musty smell in here that was almost suffocating, not to mention the size of the cell was enough to make anyone claustrophobic. It was an uncomfortable environment.

The only comfort was that there was a small window nearby, which the Originals had obviously had barred to prevent escape. The air which was let in stank of something foul, but it was air nonetheless, and she was grateful for it.

"Psst…" She heard something coming from the window. "Elena Gilbert?"

Elena turned around, her heart racing inside her stomach. She saw someone's blurry face by the window and, curious, she made her way over to it.

"Yes…" she said cautiously. "Who are you?"

"It's Rose," the owner of the voice replied. "I've not got much time. All the Originals are preparing for the sacrificial ritual, so…stand back."

Elena looked wary but did as she was told. There was a weird hissing noise coming from the other side of the window, and then the bars fell off. She'd anticipated this in time, however, and managed to catch them before they made too big a noise someone could overhear.

"Right, do you think you can fit through?" Rose's anxious voice enquired.

Elena sized the window with her mind and, secretly, thought her chances at fitting through there were slim at best. Nevertheless, she replied that she was positive that she could (she wasn't going to pass up an attempt at escaping) and knelt on the bed underneath the window, before reaching out her arms so that Rose could pull her up and out.

They managed it, to her immense surprise, and, before she could speak, Rose hoisted her up on her back and they sped off, only stopping when they'd reached a far enough place that they couldn't be discovered or overheard.

"Why did you rescue me?" was Elena's first question.

Rose dusted herself down and gave her a grim _I don't know_ type of look.

"You probably have your damn friend Damon to thank for my involvement," she grumbled. "Stefan, too. I felt ridiculously guilty when I realized what I'd done so I left Trevor in a motel room and I came back to try and rescue you. I incapacitated and killed your guards, if you were wondering."

"Thank you," Elena said gratefully. "Thank you so much."

"Don't thank me," Rose said, a little harshly. "I've probably just signed my own death warrant because of this."

Elena looked around curiously. "Where are we?"

"About two minutes walk from the Boarding House where I believe the Salvatores are," Rose replied curtly. "You can find it from here. I've risked too much tonight. If I do anymore, I'm definitely a dead woman."

And she sped off without another word, leaving Elena to stare after her. She had so many questions but she guessed she wasn't going to get them anytime soon. She had to be grateful for the fact she was here and she was free. She inhaled deeply and smiled happily, deciding to run the whole way.

She saw the Boarding House and saw there was a light on in the front room. Deciding against knocking, she pushed open the door and made her way into the room. There was a significant absence of people in the room. There was no Jeremy, no Bonnie, no Stefan…no one.

"Hello?" she called. "It's Elena!"

She walked around the room aimlessly, turning around when she spotted someone out of the corner of her eyes.

"Elena?" Stefan said cautiously, a look of incredulous delight emerging on his face. He had been carrying a rucksack but had dropped it at the sight of her. "Elena?"

"Stefan!" Elena flew towards him and locked her arms around his neck. "Oh, _Stefan!"_

She nuzzled her head into his neck and felt unbelievably overjoyed to have him in her arms again. She broke apart from him, just to gaze at his face and then kissed him hard, more out of relief and joy than anything else.

"How did you escape?" he asked, his voice trembling with disbelief, his hands stroking her hair, her face, touching any part of her to prove she was really here.

"That's what I'd like to know," a somewhat quiet voice added.

Damon walked in, his face expressionless as he watched Elena break apart from Stefan and slowly approach him.

"It's so good to see you again, Damon," she told him earnestly, and pulled him into a hug too.

Damon hesitantly locked his arms around her, fighting the urge to rest his head on hers and breathe in her scent. This was how he wanted it to be, minus Stefan, but he knew that wasn't likely to happen.

"Rose saved me," Elena explained, breaking apart from Damon. "She broke me out. Quite literally, in fact."

Stefan looked at Damon as if to say _see, I told you she was good._

"She's still a bitch," Damon remarked indifferently. "But yes, that was very, um, good of her."

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan demanded. "I thought you'd be overjoyed to get Elena back."

"Yeah, I am. Except now we're gonna have a bunch of _extremely_ pissed off Originals after us now," Damon retorted. "So much for Bonnie's plan."

"Are you saying I shouldn't have escaped?" Elena asked stonily. "That I should've been a good little prisoner and just stayed there?"

"It would've helped, yes," Damon retorted.

"You're unbelievable!" Elena snorted, looking disgusted. "What is your _problem?_"

_Wouldn't you like to know? _Damon thought moodily.

"Nothing," he snapped. "Stop trying to overanalyse me, Elena."

He stormed out the room, unable to hide his emotions for very long. He wasn't sure himself what was wrong with him, but he would've bet everything he owned it was a lot to do with Stefan and Elena's…touching reunion.

"What is wrong with him?" Elena asked, staring after him worriedly.

"I wouldn't worry about him," Stefan said dismissively. "The important thing is you're here and we need to keep you safe."

"I'm guessing I can't go home then," she said wryly.

A strange look crossed over Stefan's face before he managed to wipe it off.

"No," he said smoothly. "You'll have to stay here, if that's ok?"

"Yep." She sunk into the couch with visible relief. "Jeremy's covering for me with Jenna, right?"

"Yeah…" Stefan sounded uncertain, even sad, but she was too tired to work out what he wasn't telling her. "I think so."

"Good," she yawned. "I was worried he wouldn't be able to think of a good cover story to explain where I am. I'll check in with Jenna in the morning. You can come with if you like."

"Yes, sure…" Stefan lied, knowing she was too emotionally fragile to handle the truth right now. "You wanna sleep in my room?"

"Where else?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. "Can I have something to eat first?" she suddenly asked, sitting up. "I'm starving."

"Definitely." Stefan looked relieved at the chance of topic. "I'll make you something."

Elena watched him leave and then proceeded to search for Damon. She wandered up the stairs and, instead of heading for Stefan's room, which was normal procedure for her every time she was here, she went looking for Damon's room. She found it, right at the end of the hallway, and found him inside, stuffing things furiously into a bag.

His room was very grand in size, very impressive to look at. There was a king sized bed in the middle and, all around, there were various antiquities he'd obviously picked up over time. There was a gold framed mirror, a grandfather clock, a scarlet chair next to quite an impressive book collection, amongst many other things.

"I've never seen your room before," she said, looking impressed.

"That's because it's not open to the public," Damon remarked, and she was relieved to hear a teasing note in his voice.

"What's going on with you?" she asked quietly. "I mean, one minute you're pleased to see me and the next you'd rather I was still in the hands of Klaus?"

"That was a stupid thing to say," Damon agreed, avoiding her eyes.

She waited for him to elaborate, maybe give her an explanation as to why he'd said it but he was keeping quiet.

"Well?" she prompted. "Why'd you say it?"

Damon continued stuffing things into his bag, seemingly at random judging by the fact he'd just packed a Shakespeare book in with the rest of his stuff. She wondered if she'd done something wrong to make him mad and she wondered why it bothered her so much that he was acting this way around her.

"Look," he said quietly, "if I'm acting like a douche, there's a reason for it. But I – I can't tell you."

Elena frowned, realizing she'd heard words to that effect before. She tried to recall where she'd heard them before, but gave up after a few minutes of searching.

"You can't tell me?" she asked, folding her arms. "That's all you have to say? _You can't tell me?_"

Damon sighed heavily and turned to gaze into her eyes, realizing his earlier confidence in being able to tell her how he felt had been completely shattered by hers and Stefan's reunion. Even now, her lips called out to be kissed and he wanted to answer that call. He wanted to take her inside his arms and just…hold her until it all ended. It wasn't like him to be this sentimental, snivelling, drippy fool, but she drove him crazy in all the right ways.

"Damon, talk to me," Elena pleaded. "I thought we'd made improvement, I thought we were getting back to the way things used to be between us."

_Trouble is,_ Damon thought gloomily, _I no longer want what we had before. I want so much more. And you'll never know just how much I want it._

"If it helps, I sincerely apologize for my _horrible_ remark and humbly beg your forgiveness," he said, with a faint smirk. "Call it a bad time of the month, or whatever."

"That's what you're chalking it down to? _A_ _bad time of the month?_" Elena looked incredulous. "Damon, I'm not an idiot so don't treat me like one. There's something more going on here."

He didn't know what to say. She was practically handing him his opportunity on a plate and he still couldn't tell her how he felt. Even after 145 years of chasing down a woman who really didn't give a damn about him, he still feared rejection. What scared him the most, however, was what he would do once rejected. He'd snapped Jeremy's neck just because Elena had rebuffed his advances; what would he do when she shot him down after he'd declared his love for her?

"You should go back downstairs," he said gently. "I've seen you once already." He made the remark light and teasing. "You should go and spend time with him."

"And what are you going to do?" Elena asked, feeling unexplainably hurt by his brush off attitude towards her.

"I'm going to rustle up some troops," he said. "Stefan will want to stay here with you. I'll make the road trip on my own." He gave her his bravest attempt at a smile. "Klaus won't lay a hand on you. I promise."

And he left her there, standing in the middle of his room, with an unexplainable sense of loss she couldn't explain, even to herself.

* * *

"Isobel."

Alaric stared at his wife, who was looking at him with a faint smile on her face. Her beauty, captured forever by her immortal state, still took his breath away, even though he was pretty sure he was in love with Jenna. Either way, he wasn't supposed to feel this way about the woman who'd betrayed him in every possible way imaginable. He wished, for one wild moment, he could've been as rash like Damon and just staked her without remorse.

"You look well," Isobel said, her smile widening. "How have you been?"

"You really think I'm gonna answer that?" Alaric asked, with a soft chuckle of disbelief. "You have _no_ right to ask how I am."

"You're right," she said, tilting her head to one side and looking faintly curious. "You remember my last visit then? My compulsion didn't work?"

"I took the precaution of sewing some into my clothing," he replied, his narrowing as he took in her unspoilt appearance. "I wanted to see if there was a part of you that still cared about me, if you even cared at all."

"If you remember then you'll know I tried to make you move past me," Isobel reminded him gently. "I tried to help you move on. I was no good for you, Rick. And, it kind of worked. I've seen you with Jenna, is it? You looked happy. That's all I've wanted for you."

"You lying bitch," Alaric muttered. "Why did you marry me, stand up in front of all those people and declare you would love me forever, if there was even the slightest chance you would change your mind?"

She shrugged. "I was young, and I _did_ love you. That's the one thing I never lied about. But I was unhappy, Rick, and I wanted something more for myself."

He let out an exasperated noise.

"I know you hate me," Isobel said impatiently. "And, believe me, there's a part of me which hates me too. But the damage is done. I can't fix that mistake, but I can help you save Elena."

Alaric's eyes widened with disbelief, and he released the breath he'd been holding in ever since he'd caught sight of her again.

"How can you possibly help?" he demanded. "Why would you help when all you've done is threaten everyone Elena's ever cared about, all for a stupid invention which almost killed Stefan and Damon?"

"I didn't want that life for her," Isobel replied sharply. "I was trying to eradicate vampires from her life. I was trying to _help,_ Rick. Look, the truth is there's still a part of me that cares. I can't entirely shut it off. I figured as a kind of ode to our marriage, an ode to _you_, I'd help for a change."

Alaric looked uncertain for a change. He wanted to believe in her so much but there was too much damage between them. Sweeping aside the fact she'd ditched him without a second thought, left him to grieve in the dark, she'd not exactly treated Elena any better. But, on the other side of the coin, she was a vampire, likely to be useful in Bonnie's plan. And, truthfully, they needed all the help they could get.

"How?" he asked. "How can you help?"

She sat down in her old chair and scrutinised him carefully.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," she said. "I have contacts, as well. You need help, well I can get you help. Anything you need."

"Why are you really doing this, Isobel?" Alaric asked, raising his head. "And cut the crap about you wanting to help Elena. You've not been a part of her life, and when you met all you did was use her. I figure there's another reason you're in town and I wanna hear it."

She frowned, clearly disturbed at being caught out. However, her face quickly became composed again and she leaned forward, her once innocent eyes fixed on his, as if trying to see into his very soul.

"Klaus is after my _daughter_, Rick," she said solemnly. "Ok, I can't ignore that. Yes, I used her. Yes, I'm the world's most horrible mother…bla, bla, bla. I've done my research on Klaus, Rick, and he's going to draw out her death and make her suffer. She's related to Katherine, the one who got away. He's not going to make her death quick and easy. Elena is a part of _me_ and I can't ignore that. Name any other mother you know who tried to eradicate every vampire in her area just to keep her daughter safe."

"You can't seriously expect me to believe you're helping out of some _maternal_ streak in you," Alaric snapped. "You didn't have a maternal bone in your body even before this whole vampire obsession took hold of you, and I seriously doubt you have one now."

"Don't believe me then," Isobel said quietly. "If you find that hard to believe, then, how about believing the fact that I want _Klaus_ dead just as much as you?"

Though that was easier to believe, Alaric still couldn't quite believe Isobel was _offering_ to help, like she was this good little volunteer. Part of him wanted to stake her right there and then and stop her haunting him once and for all. But he couldn't kill her; for some sentimental reason, he still couldn't find it in his heart of hearts the strength to kill her.

"I'm gonna make the same offer you made me, Rick," Isobel said quietly, retrieving a stake from her little satchel. "You can kill me, or you can accept my help. Either way, it's up to you. Considering you need all the help you can get, I'd suggest considering the latter option very carefully."

She handed him the stake and closed her eyes. Alaric gripped the stake tightly and visualised him actually plunging into her chest. It would end the torment, sure, but it wouldn't really do anything other than finally giving him a body to mourn. It was a battle between his head and his heart: stake her, or let her live?

He sighed heavily and put the stake on the desk.

"Ok, Isobel. What did you have in mind?"

* * *

**A/n: Hey, yep I've updated quickly again. Lol. Anyway, this was a fun chapter to write. The Caroline/Alaric scene was fun and interesting to explore and Isobel was fun to write. I love writing for the dark characters, I must admit. And yes, Elena and Damon have hit a rough patch but fear not! It won't last forever. I also loved including Rose in this chapter. Even though I don't like her with Damon, she's a very cool character. She will make another appearance again so for fans of her look forward to that. I also freed Elena in this chapter because there wasn't a lot I could really do with Elena whilst she was trapped. Plus her escape will incur the wrath of Klaus and this is where he gets SCARY as HELL. I may have oversold that :P But thanks for the reviews! Keep reading and reviewing, the next chapter might not be for a while.**


	11. Building Bridges

_Chapter 11: Building Bridges_

* * *

She could hear Jeremy and Bonnie before she saw them. They were arguing, or rather, bickering, over something. She coughed to get their attention but, for a brief moment, they were immersed in whatever it was they were fighting about.

Bonnie was first to break from the cloud of irritation they'd formed around each other and she turned her attention on Elena. Her jaw fell slack, as did Jeremy's, who'd caught up to her at this point.

"Elena?" she asked, looking like she'd seen a ghost. "Is that - Is that you?"

Elena beamed at her wordlessly, although her heart wasn't really in it. She was reliving the conversation - the very strange conversation - she and Damon had had in his room. Unless she was insane, she thought something had passed between them, a kind of spark, or a kind of understanding, and it seemed to have had an effect on her…

Bonnie flew into Elena's arms and held her tight, half laughing, half crying. Elena relished the embrace, realizing just how much she'd missed her best friend. They tried to speak simultaneously, both sets of eyes watering with emotion as they stared at each other with unmistakeable relief.

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked, unable to believe his own eyes.

Elena nodded and then released Bonnie, making her way over towards her brother so she could hug him too. He embraced her fiercely, feeling a surge of protectiveness only a brother can ever feel. He was so overwhelmed she was back that, for once, he couldn't think of anything to say. Bonnie smiled at the scene before her; despite all their optimism that the plan would work, she'd concealed secret fears she might never see her best friend ever again, fears which kept her up at night worrying and feeling sad.

Jeremy released her suddenly, pausing to examine her carefully. His fingers came across a large mark on one side of her face. He frowned, and leaned in for a closer look.

"How'd you get that?" he asked, puzzled.

Elena sighed. "Elijah hit me," she said, trying to brush it off as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's nothing, really."

"I wouldn't call hitting my sister nothing," Jeremy said, his voice dangerously low.

"Look, Jer, it's not a big deal," Elena said dismissively. "What we should be worried about is Klaus."

"Has Stefan filled you in on the plan?" Bonnie asked. "We've had to make some…modifications now that you're here instead of there, but it should still work."

"It sounds dangerous," Elena cut across, looking worried. "I mean, you're all putting yourselves in danger. Someone's gonna get hurt or worse."

"I knew she'd react this way," Jeremy said pointedly to Bonnie. "I have to agree. This is a big spell, Bonnie, and you could get killed just trying to do the damn thing in the first place."

"Not when I have the power of two," Bonnie said, holding up a weird locket type of thing. "Lucy gave me it."

"What is it?" Elena asked curiously.

"A talisman," Bonnie explained. "She told me all about how witches can channel other witches' power, without them even being in the same room as each other. It's her way of saying she'll help but won't get involved. Now, we have a little bit more power to go on, which should make the spell twice as effective, if all goes to plan."

"It's still risky, Bonnie," Elena said worriedly. "I don't want to lose you on my account."

"Elena…" Bonnie gently grabbed her hands and looked at her with sisterly affection. "Remember that Supernatural box set we rented out a while back? It had those two brothers in…"

"Right. Dean and Sam," Elena nodded. "What about it?"

"Those brothers risked their lives every single day just trying to protect each other," Bonnie said solemnly. "And, yeah, I know it's only fiction, and this is reality, but I would do anything for you, Elena. Even risk my own life. You'd do the same for me because we're like _sisters_. I mean, I've been going crazy this past week because I didn't know if you were even alive. I had hope, but I wasn't sure. So, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you were in my shoes. I know you, Elena Gilbert. You would."

Elena felt tears spring from the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she sniffed, pulling Bonnie in for another tight hug. "I'm just being silly…worrying for nothing."

"Oh, I wouldn't say for nothing," Bonnie said airily, and both girls laughed, the atmosphere changing dramatically.

"So, what happens now?" Elena asked, her gaze flickering from Bonnie to Jeremy, somehow instinctively realizing these two had teamed up.

"Jeremy's helping me practice the spell," Bonnie explained. "The more I practice, the quicker I can get the flames to start. Once the first flame goes up…Well, they'll be consumed within seconds."

"What can I do?" Elena asked, eager to help.

Jeremy and Bonnie exchanged a look.

"You can stay here and be safe," Jeremy told her firmly. "We're not letting you out of sight again, that's for sure."

Elena looked from one to the other, a look of outrage on her face.

"You're not doing this on your own," she spluttered. "I can help. I can be the distraction you need."

"Absolutely not." Jeremy was adamant. "Don't think you can budge us on this, 'cause you can't."

"But - " Elena started to protest.

"Definitely not," Damon's voice cut across hers.

They three of them turned around simultaneously to see the vampire leaning against the wall on the other side of the wall, his expression unfathomable. His eyes fell on Elena, his heart pounding in the chest at the determined expression on her face. He just knew she would suggest something stupid like this.

"Why not?" Elena demanded. "I can help. I'm not waiting on the sideline to see which of you lives or dies." She started to shake at the thought of losing someone. "If there's something I can do to help, I'll do it."

"Can I have a word with you?" Damon asked, looking at her meaningfully.

Without waiting for her reply, he sped over to her, grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door carefully so that she could see how his every muscle was shaking with anger at that absurd suggestion.

"What the hell are you playing at?" he demanded, whirling around. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed? No, scratch that; it's plain to see that's exactly your intention. What I wanna ask instead is…_are you insane?"_

"Maybe." She shrugged. "If wanting to protect the people I love is insane, then, yeah, I'm insane."

Damon stared at her, then pinched the bridge of his nose as a way of holding in his temper, which was about to erupt at any moment.

"I know you, Elena," he said dangerously. "I know what's going through your pretty little brain at the moment. You're thinking of giving yourself up to Klaus in exchange for keeping all of us safe. It's an insane plan."

"Is it?" Elena stared ahead, her heart heavy. "You all say this isn't just about me, but it is. These Originals won't stop until I'm dead. They're more powerful than you know. Klaus is bent on having me killed; do you think he's going to stop for chitchat when he comes across all of you? No…I refuse to let anyone die for me. Not on my watch."

Damon was suddenly in front of her, his hands on her shoulders as though he was prepared to shake the madness from her bones. He glared into her eyes and she cowered a little whilst, at the same time, standing her ground. There was a time when Damon had frightened her, but she wasn't that terrified little girl anymore. Time, and terror, had toughened her up. But there was something about the resolute expression on his face which intimidated her, slightly. She couldn't explain why.

"Ok, I'm only going to say this once, Elena, so pay attention." Damon sighed heavily. "Forget everyone else's arguments about why you shouldn't do this. I'm going to play the selfish card one last time and beg you to listen to _my _reasons. One, you are the only friend I'll ever have. If you sacrifice yourself, I swear I'll find a way to bring you back to life and kill you myself. You are not leaving me alone to suffer everyone else's misery."

Her lips twitched a little, although she could see he was being deadly serious.

"Two," Damon continued, on a roll, now, "you probably don't realize this, but out of the 145 years I've been a vampire, the ten best moments of my life all have you in them. My number one being our trip to Georgia."

"You mean _your _trip to Georgia. I distinctly remember not wanting to go," Elena said, fighting back a smile.

"Yeah, well you were all cute and lifeless. How could I not take advantage of that?" Damon teased, losing his serious face for the moment. "Whatever. I'll remember that when _you're_ all cute and lifeless," she fired back, folding her arms.

"Pfft, like that'll ever happen." Damon lightly pushed her. "Can I continue with my Oscar winning speech please?" She nodded. "Good. If you think about how many days there are in a year, then multiply that number by 145, you get a heck of a lot of days, and a heck of a lot of moments. And my ten best ones have had you in them," he continued, gazing her intently. "If you carry on with this insane plan, you're basically throwing all of those good moments back in my face."

Elena felt a cold dose of surprise trickle down her spine. She'd never heard him talk like this before, not even to her. His words were simply spellbinding, and she felt a tug in the corner of her heart she'd never felt in his presence before. It was, in a word, astonishing.

"Three, well, you're my life-size Jiminy Cricket," Damon added.

She blinked. "What?"

"Oh come on, as if you never watched Disney!" Damon exclaimed. "Now I _know _you're insane!"

"What are you on about?"

"Jiminy Cricket was this little guy who was the moral conscience of Pinocchio."

"Pinocchio? As in the kid whose nose grew every time he lied?"

Damon nodded solemnly. "The Disney era was about the only reason I managed to pass by the last thirty years or so. Plus chicks dug me when I said I liked it. Something about sensitivity, or whatever…"

"You're terrible," she informed him.

"Guilty, as charged," he said, flashing her a grin. "Now stop charmingly befuddling me out of my task of persuading you to stop these suicidal thoughts, and let me talk!"

"Fine."

He breathed in and out, realizing this was his moment. He was about to pour out his heart and soul to her. This was it. There was no going back once he'd uttered the words he needed to utter.

"Damon?" Stefan called from up the stairs.

_Damn it! _he cursed, whilst there was a tiny part of him which had melted with relief. He had more time to build up to this moment.

Then, he had a sudden thought.

"You want to come with me?" he asked.

"Come with you where?" Elena asked suspiciously, wary of anything which involved leaving her friends again.

"Stefan and I were all set to go on this road trip to find other vampires who could help," Damon explained. "As a matter of fact, I've got a bunch of people who owe me favours and stuff, so that's a start. Taking you with me would accomplish two objectives. One, it would stop you getting into trouble. And two, I think you'd be a hell of a lot safer away from Mystic Falls."

"So, in other words, you want to use this trip to keep an eye on me?" Elena surmised, frowning.

"More or less," he admitted.

She folded her arms, but had to admit she could see the attraction of such a plan. Yes, she would be safe, and it would give her ample time to grill him on what he wasn't telling her. Plus, it would be nice to go on the road with him again, try and rekindle some of what they'd lost since the trip to Georgia.

"We should consult Stefan first," she decided.

"Why? Because we have to run everything by him?" Damon asked sarcastically. "Unless there was a dramatic switch around at birth, I'm the older brother. Don't mistake Stefan's broodiness for leadership."

"I just think it's a good idea to run it by him first," Elena iterated. "He's only just got me back, Damon. He's unlikely to give the idea the seal of approval."

But, to her astonishment, Stefan actually agreed to the plan.

"I think it's good to get you out of here, if only for a while," he said slowly, giving Damon a scrutinising look over the top of her head. "Klaus won't be looking anywhere else once he knows you're missing."

"But it'll be me and Damon," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, I know."

"We'll be together for an extended period of time. Are you sure you're ok about that?" she asked worriedly.

"I am, thanks for asking" Damon chipped in, retreating only when Elena glared at him. "Sorry. I'll go…do something."

He promptly left the room, leaving Elena with Stefan and Bonnie and Jeremy.

"What do you guys think about this?" she asked, glancing at them.

"It's a good idea," Bonnie chipped in. "And although it kills me to say this, Damon's right, Elena. You'll be a whole lot safer out of Mystic Falls. And," she added reluctantly, "I know Damon will look after you."

Jeremy nodded his approval, feeling it was rather futile to re-iterate the point Bonnie had just made.

Stefan smiled at Elena and pulled her into his arms.

"I trust both of you," he murmured in her ears. "You're in no safer hands. Trust me."

He kissed the top of her head, sensing she felt conflicted. In reality, she did, but not for the reasons he thought. She knew Stefan well enough to know he probably thought she felt guilty for leaving him behind. She did, in a way, but there was more to it than that. She felt guilty and confused, and a little bit scared, because she was sure she was feeling something for Damon.

But that couldn't be possible in light of all he'd done to her…could it?

* * *

Damon flipped open his phone, after feeling it vibrate against his thigh, after seeing that Alaric had chosen this moment to update them on his little mission.

"Yep, the handsomest Salvatore speaking, can I help?" he couldn't resist joking. "How's things down in Duke?"

"_From what I can decipher of Isobel's notes, she actually tried to find these so-called Originals at one point."_

"Well, of course, she tried. She's a psychotic little bitch who would've tried anything to get her precious immortality," Damon sneered.

There was a nervous cough on the other end of the line, followed by Caroline's impatient "tell him already!".

"Rick…" he began, his voice dangerously low, yet still managing to make it sound sing-song-y. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"_Um, Isobel kind of met up with me at Duke. She's in the car with me now."_

Damon groaned. "Fantastic. That's just what we need, for that ray of sunshine to come in and take over. I don't want her anywhere near Elena, do you understand?"

A new voice took over the phone. _"Hello, Damon. Long time no see."_

"Happy days," Damon mocked. "So, who'd ya threaten this time to get in on the action? Caroline? Let me tell you, that would've been no big loss…"

He heard Caroline's indignant snarl in the background and hid a smile, loving how easily wound up she got. He'd really only left her alone because she occasionally amused him with her antics, and how everything was a "big deal" , and, of course, on Elena's orders.

"_I didn't threaten anyone, Damon." _He heard the smile in her voice and bristled. _"I'm actually here to help."_

"That's a lie, for a start. We both know whatever your reason for coming back is, it's not to help us."

"_You're right. I'm not here to help you. I'm here to help Elena."_

"Why?" Damon demanded. "The last time you encountered her you drove her to tears, threatened all of her friends, and, oh, nearly got her boyfriend killed. You've really got the motherly touch haven't you?"

"_Believe what you want, Damon." _He could tell he'd touched a nerve. _"But whether or not you hate me, I'm here to help. Help is something you can't really afford to turn down at the moment, wouldn't you agree?"_

He snarled quietly, which she obviously picked up on.

"_Take that as a yes… I'll pass you back to Rick. I'll be seeing you shortly."_

"Alaric," Damon snapped, the moment he'd ascertained the history teacher was back on the phone. "Are you insane? Why'd you believe her when she said she could help? All she's going to do is try and extinguish us all again."

"_It's not my brightest idea, no…" _Alaric sounded sheepish. _"But it's a plan, isn't it? It's not a question of trust, Damon, it's a question of how much we need her. And we need her a lot. We can't do this alone."_

"Oh, we can…" Damon said, although he sounded less than certain.

"_Don't be a dick, Damon. She's helping, end of."_

And he rung off, leaving a very pissed off Damon who glared murderously at the ground, thinking this was the queen of all bad ideas. Nothing good could come of Isobel helping. NOTHING. Except, maybe, just maybe, the extra help could save Elena's life.

And he knew he would be an idiot to even pass up an opportunity like this; even if it seemed like it was one of those blessings that was heavily, heavily disguised.

Still, the encounter had put him in a bit of a foul mood, the only thing keeping him from losing it entirely being the upcoming road trip with Elena. He was looking forward to it, even though it was sprung out of a problematic situation on an apocalyptic scale.

He spotted Elena hovering by the window, staring at him expressionless. She clearly looked tired, which meant for a good deal of their journey he was likely to be talking to an unconscious figure. But they hadn't got any time to lose, and, thinking practically, it was probably the best idea he'd come up with so far, in terms of taking her with him. She'd be safer, and, if you ignored the personal element to his mission, it was practically foolproof, and very crafty, if he said so himself.

He continued watching even as she turned away, Bonnie by her side. How little she knew about how he felt about her. She knew he'd been interested enough to kiss her - well, Katherine; a fact which still ruffled him - but that was it. He'd dropped the subject after his…erm, tantrum, which may or may not have involved him trying to snap Jeremy's neck, sensing maybe it was something she clearly had no interest in talking about.

He sighed loudly, leaning against his car, feeling conflicted. Was it necessarily wise telling her how he felt? He knew what she'd say, but even just mentally hearing that response physically crippled him. Maybe the answer was to tell her how he felt, then compel her to forget afterwards. Yes, he liked that option.

He liked it a lot.

* * *

"Well," Alaric sighed, as he put down the phone. "That didn't go down too well."

"It's Damon," Caroline pointed out. "It could've gone down a lot worse, believe me."

Isobel sat in the front of the car, next to Alaric, her eyes flicking back and forth between the other two, her eyes flashing with intrigue.

"So, sweetheart, how did you get caught up in all this mess?" she asked Caroline, her eyes hiding the tiniest bit of disdain as she examined the girl. "Let me guess; Damon Salvatore. He usually is the cause of all the trouble."

"Yep." Caroline pressed her lips together firmly. "He used and abused me, same as everyone else. Katherine was the one who was responsible for turning me."

"Turning you?" Isobel asked, sounding the teensiest bit alarmed. "Hm, turning angst-filled teenagers isn't usually her style. I wonder what her motive was for doing it…"

"She wanted to hurt the Salvatore brothers," Caroline informed her. "Well, more specifically, Elena. Katherine's in the tomb though, so the only dangerous thing about her now is her mouth."

Isobel pressed her lips firmly together, and seemed to wander off into her own thoughts, something which didn't go unnoticed by her ex-husband.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

She smiled coolly. "You always were good at spotting what kind of mood I was in. I must say, having someone who knows me is something I've missed. I was just wondering why all this is happening now. I mean, the vampires I spoke to have been aware of Mystic Falls for years. It just strikes me as odd they've not checked in from time to time."

"They've not had anything to check on," Alaric replied, staring ahead as the rain started to fall. "They all believed the Petrova line ended with Katherine. No one factored you in. In fact," he gazed at her thoughtfully through the mirror, "I'm surprised no one's tried to look you up, see whether or not you could've produced another doppelganger."

"Oh, I don't they would've connected the Petrova line with me," Isobel said, smiling ironically. "I didn't even know what my daughter would grow up to be. I wasn't interested either. Oh, don't look at me like that, Rick. Men don't understand the pressures women are under when they've given birth. They've got to care for the child, and some women are just not maternal. You've said it yourself that I'm not maternal. If there had been even the slightest of doubts, I would've kept her, for all the good it would've done."

"You're Elena's birth mom?" Caroline chimed in. "Why am I always the last to know these things?"

"Didn't you know?" Alaric asked her, confused.

"I mean, Elena told me she was adopted. She just skipped the part about her birth mother being a vampire," Caroline huffed.

"In Elena's defence, I don't think her one and only encounter with me was something she particularly felt like sharing," Isobel spoke up, her voice tinged with the faintest traces of regret.

"Still, I don't like being in the dark," Caroline said sullenly, leaning back to watch the rain fall. "I get that all the time from my mother."

* * *

"You ready to go, champ?" Damon asked, piling his stuff into the car.

Elena stood by the car, biting her lip and glancing at a clearly strained Stefan. The question was clearly ridiculous; there was still an element of distrust to her he had a feeling he was better off living with than trying to fix.

"Not really," she replied honestly. "I want to sleep in a proper bed and just forget the world but I guess a car will do."

He chuckled softly. "That's the spirit. And, hey, you managed to sleep in it before. You'll do it again, no problem."

"I was unconscious, I had no choice," she reminded him, a weak smile on her face.

"Details, details…" he said dismissively. Then, noticing Stefan's awkward stance, he added, "I'll give you two lovebirds a moment."

He opened the door of his car and slid in, switching on the radio so that he could drown out their conversation. He didn't need to hear their intimate goodbye, lest he should drown in his own self-loathing and pity.

"What are you going to do?" Elena asked anxiously.

"I'm going to help Bonnie, as much as I can," Stefan reassured her. "There's likely to vampires searching the place, searching for you, so I'll have to take care of them, no doubt."

"Don't," she moaned, looking pale with fright. "I almost lost you once to those tomb vampires. I can't - I can't think about losing you again. This whole trip feels wrong anyway. Maybe I should stay…"

"No." Stefan placed his hands on her shoulder. "I'm with Damon on this one. Get out of Mystic Falls and keep yourself safe. Your safety is my priority."

She smiled weakly at him and rested her head against his chest, looking for comfort there. It felt wrong - and slightly like she was betraying him - that she found none there. It just felt like she was hugging a friend, rather than her boyfriend, and that in itself was all screwed up.

"Be safe," he said, smiling softly at her. "I know Damon will protect you. He knows I'd have his head on a plate if anything happened to you on his watch."

Elena laughed weakly, although the sick feeling in her stomach never left her. She didn't mention it, but she just had this terrible feeling she wasn't going to see him again. She couldn't explain it, and even to her own ears, it sounded ridiculous. So, with a certain sense of unease, she kissed him goodbye and climbed into the passenger seat of Damon's car and settled down, suddenly feeling wide awake.

Damon, to her relief, sensed her confusion and troubled mind, and didn't say anything as they pulled away from the Boarding House, and out onto the open road. Maybe he was giving her space to sleep, but she was grateful for the silence all the same. She didn't feel in the mood for talking.

After fifteen minutes, she chanced a question, and asked where it was they were going, her voice sounding flat and lifeless.

"To see an old friend," was Damon's vague reply. "His name is Walter. He doesn't live too far from Mystic Falls, really."

"Hmm…"

He glanced at her. "You ok, kiddo?"

"Not really."

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really." She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. I'm even less fun than I was the last time. I'm just…worried."

He smiled and then suddenly stiffened, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"What?" Elena asked, sounding frightened. "Damon?"

"You're bleeding," he stated, visibly trying to fight off his most basic instinct. "I'm gonna have to pull over."

The car swerved to the side and Elena immediately checked herself, then started when she saw blood crawling out of her nose. She frowned; she hadn't had a nosebleed since she was a little girl.

Damon stopped the car and got out, taking deep breaths, trying to fight the basic urge to kill he had done so well to hide around her. He couldn't understand why it was coming out now; he felt hungry, ravenous almost, and it was like someone was drawing out every bit of animal within him.

"You got a tissue?" Elena asked, stepping out.

"Somewhere…" Damon was trying not to speak; he could feel a growl in the back of his throat.

He tossed her the box he carried with him - for human emergencies, of course - and leaned against the car, literally fighting to keep himself human. _What is going on? _he wondered, terrified by what was happening. Even in his darker days, he'd not felt this…monstrous, like he could rip apart an entire town and not think twice about it.

Elena staunched the blood flow but concentrated her attention on Damon, who looked like he was struggling with something.

"Are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

"Not really…" he joked, quoting her words. "I've never struggled around blood like this before. That was always Stefan's forte, y'know?"

"Should I get back in the car?" she wondered.

Damon grunted in reply, his face changing a little, before he managed to control it. He could hear her heart beating in his chest, and it gave him a frightening surge of pleasure that it was beating in terror. This wasn't normal, surely?

"You might wanna run," he suggested, not looking at her.

"This blood's not stopping," Elena panicked. "What do we do?"

"Run," Damon stressed. "I can't fight back this hunger, Elena. I'm gonna hurt ya."

"I'll call Stefan," Elena decided.

"Don't, it'll be too late," Damon grunted.

He could hear her blood pumping around her body, and it was just so tempting to sink his teeth into her flesh, draw it all out and let it flow down his throat. Oh God, that thought was driving him crazy.

And then, all of a sudden, it was gone. The urge to kill had subsided as soon as it'd come, and he staggered backwards a little, stunned into silence.

"What happened?" Elena asked, trembling, the worst of her nosebleed gone. "What - What _happened?_"

"I happened," remarked a familiar cold voice.

She whirled around and saw Klaus standing there, his eyes ice cold, yet he wore a thin lipped smile which almost displayed amusement. Fear paralysed her; she didn't know what to do, what to think.

"That was a neat trick I picked up over the years," he continued, standing by Damon's car. "I guess because that instinct is so strong within me, and because it's been there for so long, it provides me with the ability to force it on others. Of course, this is just a theory. There are no past cases to study and learn from." He chuckled softly. "None that I know of, anyway, and I pride myself on my extensive knowledge of life."

He circled around Damon, looking like a predator encircling its prey.

"Ironically, a vampire is at his weakest when he's on his hunt. Oh, not to the prey, but to any outside forces. So intent is he on the hunt that all other senses - like the ability to sense someone approaching, let's say - just subside."

"You just won't leave us alone, will you?" Damon choked, rising, his face ashen.

"I'm afraid not." Klaus stared at him coldly, no ounce of kindness visible at all. "Because of you, two of my best men are dead. I don't want to know the details of the escape. That little story is best left for your death bed."

"Leave him alone," Elena protested, still clutching the tissue to her nose. "It's me you want."

She glanced at Damon, who met her eyes, both of them unified, strangely enough, in keeping Rose's name in the clear. If Klaus believed Damon had rescued Elena, it was easier - and more comforting in a way - to let him believe it. It kept them together, fighting the same battle side by side, although she'd rather have kept him out of it.

"Yes it is," Klaus said crabbily. "As you keep saying. You don't stay put though, do you? Rather pointless saying something you don't mean, am I right in that assumption?"

He didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he looked testily at his watch, the occasional sigh escaping his lips.

"I'll kill you if you take her," Damon vowed, his strength returning. "That's a promise."

"I know…" Klaus lamented. "Which is why I'm afraid I'll have to take you too. If not for the preservation of my life, then to make sure a certain missus behaves." He looked pointedly at Elena. "One thing I've observed about humans is that a big weakness they have is that they form attachments to others so very easily. Quite pathetic really, but, in our case, certainly a convenience, right, Damon?"

Damon stared at him stonily, refusing to answer.

Klaus stared at his watch again, then gave a grim smile.

"Right, now I'm about to display the benefits of having a witch on your side," he muttered, speeding over to Damon, examining him closely for a second, before delivering a blow which connected with his head. "Ghastly as they may be, they do have their uses."

Damon tried to avoid it but couldn't, and the effect of the blow was indescribable. It felt like someone had given him a beating, rather than a single punch to the head. He staggered back, feeling violently ill, before collapsing at Klaus' feet.

Elena gave a sharp scream, deciding to obey his earlier command and run. Klaus sped over to her and gave her a quick once over look, before almost lazily reaching out a hand and touching her face. She collapsed without warning, her entire world going black.

And, strange as it seemed, the last face she saw resolutely in her mind was Damon's, not Stefan's, as though he was the one holding her to reality, holding her to sanity. Maybe he was. It wasn't so crazy a theory as it may have seemed a week ago.

* * *

**A/n: I actually had no idea where this chapter was going, hence why I said it wouldn't be up for a while. Thank you Janice34 for the suggestion of Damon and Elena going on a road trip because I wasn't originally going to do that! I hadn't even thought of it. *smacks head* It's the obvious thing to do, really, plus it got me to the point I wanted to get to which is Damon and Elena trapped together. Anyway, thank Janice34 for the quick update because the delay in the chapter would've been down to writer's block. Thank you all for reviewing and being so faithful to the story! I really do appreciate it!**


	12. You and Me Against the World

_Chapter 12: You and Me Against the World_

* * *

Elena's eyes flickered open, a small, almost indistinguishable sigh escaping her lips. She attempted to move but found her hands had been restrained…again. Her legs hadn't, although she really couldn't see what her legs could achieve with that sense of freedom.

What really bugged her the most, however, wasn't the fact she was back to being a prisoner - it was that she was alone. They'd dragged Damon off somewhere, far away from her, presumably, and she was all on her own, with not even his wit to keep her spirits up.

She sighed heavily again, wriggling her body so she could at least attempt to make herself a little bit comfortable. There was no point, really; the sun was setting on the second day out of the three day period. There was only one day left to the full moon and, honestly, she didn't see Rose going out her way to help again. She, however, felt like she'd done a little bit towards repaying her by keeping it secret who'd actually rescued her, unfortunately condemning Damon in the process which weighed on her conscience heavily.

For all she knew, he could be dead by now, and she'd not made more of an effort with him. The underlining point she'd been ignoring was that he had been improving as of late, but it seemed to be a genuine change and not out of some desperation to win her approval.

Which made her wonder if there was more to it - more to him - than she could ever have thought possible.

The door to her cell suddenly flew open and, warily, Elena shuffled backwards, although there really was no need. The door had only been opened so that Damon could be flung in. There was no message in passing, no delivery of food, nothing to indicate that anything was happening.

"Damon?" she questioned, once the door had been slammed shut. "Are you ok?"

He didn't answer, but instead collapsed on his back and let out a string of profanities and swear words which had her wincing. She saw his face and let out an intense gasp.

"Damon! Your…face…"

"Is intensely attractive, I know," he joked weakly.

"What did they do to you?" Elena demanded.

Damon groaned and sat up, making a weak attempt at shuffling next to Elena. He looked like he was in intense pain and Elena felt rather helpless staring at him.

"They tortured me with vervain," he told her matter-of-factly. "It wasn't so much a matter of getting information out of me, rather than a matter of unleashing their personal hatred of the Salvatore name onto me." He gave her a brave attempt at a smile. "It was nothing, really…"

"Yeah, looks like it," she said, tight lipped. "You know, if you didn't play down things so much, maybe you might have a shot at letting someone in, Damon."

"You offering?" he wisecracked, laughing softly at his own joke.

"Look, you're in pain. Admit it!" Elena was getting irritated. "Why can't you take this seriously, Damon?"

"Because we're gonna get out of this. We always do," he drawled, his face scrunched up with pain. "Maybe it hurts a little," he conceded. "You wanna be my nurse?"

She let out an exasperated sigh, although she reluctantly gave him a weak smile. She leaned her head against the wall and, despite the situation, felt a little better knowing Damon was here.

"You ok?" Damon asked quietly, his quiet groans subsiding.

She curled her knees to her chest and didn't answer for a moment. She had an essay of an answer all prepared, but she just didn't have the energy to explain to Damon, of all people, how this was all not ok, and that she just wanted things to go back to the way they were, when it was just her and Stefan up against the world, and where the only menace in town was Damon who, let's face, even in those darker days could still be charming and be able to be controlled if she had a word with him. Even in those days, he still listened to her, still took her advice, even if he did make a song and dance about how he was the eternal stud who was better off alone.

Elena frowned a little, wondering what it was about her that meant she could talk to Damon and bring out his humanity, and Stefan couldn't.

"Hey…" Damon shuffled closer to her. "It'll be ok, you know? I mean, you've got an intensely attractive vampire for company? It can't be all bad, right?"

"Yeah." She smiled suddenly, remembering something. "You're not the worst company in the world."

Damon smiled widely, glad to see she was cheering up a little bit, but also secretly delighted she'd held their trip to the Georgia in the same light as he did, as being something worth remembering.

He shuffled closer, trying to gage her reaction, but she didn't seem to mind that he was now so close he was practically sitting on her lap. She turned her head and gave him a soft smile, which faded quickly when she saw the damage those brutes had done to his face.

Elena hesitated before gently grabbing his face with her hands so she could examine his face closely. Without touching them, she traced over the various bumps and scars on his face which had been caused by the vervain. Her eyes met his, and she silently conveyed her worry for him which he, equally as silently, dismissed. She frowned, giving him a look which tried to pressure him into actually caring about himself, but he shrugged, as though saying, _it doesn't really matter what happens to me. All I care about is that you get out of here alive. _

She turned her head and removed her hands, looking momentarily upset by his dismissive attitude. Then, her expression became calculating, as she debated trying to demonstrate just how much she cared about him. And then she talked herself out of it. And then it suddenly seemed like an attractive idea, in more ways than one. But Stefan's face popped into her mind, and suddenly, she was back to hesitating.

"Look, I need to say something before anything…" Damon began, and her mind was made up.

"Shut up and stop trying to give me the goodbye speech," she commanded, before grabbing his face with her hands.

There was a split moment of hesitation - as she weighed up the pros and cons of doing this to herself - before she gently placed her lips on his. It was something born out of a brief spurt of madness, but it didn't feel like madness at all. She could feel his surprise, which was a surprise in and of itself, before he responded.

It was an even bigger surprise, however, that her original plan in kissing him to convince him to keep fighting rather than just accept his fate like a dummy quickly became something more. Rather than fighting his lips, as she'd done before, she was actually fighting to keep the kiss alive. It felt like they were the last two people on earth, sharing their last kiss as the world burned around them.

His hand wound its way around her neck pulling her closer to her, well, as close as they could get given the fact she was shackled to the wall. He seemed about as eager to continue the kiss as she did, and it seemed, now she was finally responding to him, he was unwilling to let the moment pass by.

The biggest surprise of them all, however, lay in the fact that she couldn't find a single reason to stop this, even though her head was fighting this like crazy. It was like every conversation they'd ever had, every moment they'd ever shared, had been the spark crawling its way along the fuse, and this moment, right here, was the firework exploding.

Elena broke the kiss and leaned back, wondering what the hell she'd just done. It was an impulsive action which, somehow, had turned into something so much more. What she'd started had been so stupid…yet so right. It was like one of those mistakes you suddenly realize wasn't a mistake at all, but was something completely different.

"Well…" Damon spoke first, breaking the tension. "It's been a long time since someone's thrown themselves at me like that."

She suddenly laughed, unable to help herself. The laughter, like the kiss, spun out of control, until it just completely drained her. She briefly wondered if she was under some kind of spell, or compulsion, but it had been completely spontaneous. That fact she couldn't ignore. It'd been a decision she'd made with her head…and her heart, somewhere along the way, had taken over.

"Wanna tell me what the hell happened there?" Damon asked, sounding slightly breathless.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, feeling inexplicably frightened and horrified by what she'd just done, as if she'd committed a cardinal sin. "Can I just say it was the heat of the moment, and all that jazz?"

"Nuh-uh." Damon wasn't letting her off that easy. "I knew it!"

"Knew what, Damon?" she asked wearily, closing her eyes.

"I knew there was something between us," he declared triumphantly. "I'm sorry, but you can't blame kissing me on anything else but you. Not compulsion, not some stupid dare, or whatever. Because that right there…that was all you."

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered, finding herself nervous at the prospect it could've all been false.

"There's a sure fire way to tell," Damon told her, his eyes flashing with mirth and joy. "Did you want to kiss me?"

This was it, moment of truth.

"Um…" Elena was at a loss for words. "No…I mean, yes…Oh, maybe! Does it matter?" She sounded distressed.

"It matters. Trust me," Damon said firmly. "And, if you're unsure, there's another way to tell."

"Is there?"

She sounded wary, probably with good reason.

"Uh-huh. Close your eyes."

She did so, rather reluctantly.

Damon watched her and realized, even here, she was still so, so, beautiful. It didn't matter that her face was dirty, or that her clothes were now a faded mirage of what they used to be, or even that she smelled, just a little bit, from her experience. Inside and out, she was completely radiant.

Tentatively, realizing it was his turn to start, he lowered his head towards her and pressed his lips softly against hers, fully intending to retreat if she showed no signs she was going to return the kiss. But she did. Even if her lips were half a second slower than his, the fact was she returned the kiss. It was slow, and it was sweet; it was like everything you ever wanted from a first kiss and more.

It was his intention to just let the kiss drag on for a few minutes, just so she could appreciate the fact that he, once again, was right. But she broke it off after a few seconds, already realizing he was right. And, to his consternation, she had tears in her eyes.

"Elena…" he asked, looking troubled. "Was it something I did?"

"No," she told him. "It was something _I _did. Damon…I still can't forgive or forget what you did to Jeremy. What you tried to do. But when I'm with you…Oh, I don't know how to explain it! I forget for one moment that I'm supposed to be distancing myself from you. And lately…I just feel…" His eyes were distracting her, the way they followed her about. "I just feel…like maybe I've misjudged the whole…situation."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's… clear."

She laughed, despite herself. She was being quite vague, and she knew what she wanted to say, but he had her all tongue tied, which wasn't helpful when there was a lot she wanted to get off her chest.

"Maybe we should save the serious talk until we're rescued," she said, sighing heavily.

"Where's the sudden optimism come from?" Damon teased. "I can guess, but you'll just accuse me of being egotistical…"

She shoved him lightly. "You are, though!" He chuckled and wrapped a loose arm around her, his arm awkwardly manoeuvring around the chairs. Her head rested on his shoulder, another heavy sigh leaving her lips.

"Hey, what were you going to say earlier?" she asked, suddenly remembering what had happened pre-kiss.

"I thought you didn't want a goodbye speech," Damon asked pointedly, smirking, even throughout his pain.

"I don't. But it seemed like you were going to tell me something important," she pressed, looking intrigued.

"Oh, that, well…" Damon began, before they were interrupted by the door opening, Irena standing there with a look of supreme satisfaction plastered onto her face.

"I've been told Ethan wants to see you," she said, her eyes twinkling with self-righteousness. Elena felt like punching her. "He's one of us, so I wouldn't think of trying anything. He'll snap your neck in a heartbeat, sacrifice, or no sacrifice."

"Were you a bitchy human, by any chance?" Damon enquired sarcastically, "Or did becoming a vampire just naturally make you this incredibly bitchy, nauseatingly plastic, judging by the cake load of make up you're wearing, self-centred, egotistical bitch?"

"Takes one to know one, Damon," Irena snapped, her face twisting unpleasantly. "Did you enjoy our little chat ? Seems to have weakened you a little bit, so don't try anything stupid."

"Why did you take him?" Elena asked, her voice shaking with anger. "What have you got against him?"

"Well, doll," Irena drawled, strutting forwards. "As you know, we need you to break the curse, but we also need a werewolf, a witch, and a vampire too. We were going to use one of our very willing friends but, we thought, why waste the blood of one of our own?"

Elena's eyes widened in horror, and she shook her head violently, suddenly feeling extremely sick. It was bad enough they'd roped her in to this sick, twisted ritual, but to bring Damon into the loop? These monsters really were as ruthless as everyone had painted them out to be.

"Well, it's nice to be asked for this type of thing." Damon kept his tone pleasant and friendly. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to ask before you planned ahead?"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to shut the hell up?" Irena fired back, slamming him against the wall so hard a few bricks shook. "Believe me, Salvatore, I could rip you apart right here, right now, in front of your pet, except higher orders forbid me from doing so. Just mind your manners, boy, and show some respect!"

She clicked her fingers authoritatively and, at once, two vampires marched in, released Elena from her shackles, and marched the pair of them out the cell and into the unknown.

* * *

"Damn it, Damon, answer your phone!" Stefan grumbled, pacing around the room frantically.

"He's probably just being a dick and not answering on purpose," Jeremy suggested. "That sounds like his style."

"No, it's not," Bonnie said, unexpectedly sticking up for the vampire. "Not now, anyway. He might be an ass but he knows the importance of keeping us up to date with what's going on."

"I've called him three times," Stefan said worriedly. "Something's got to have happened."

Bonnie and Jeremy exchanged a worried look, but didn't know what to say that would offer any comfort to Stefan. They were at the Boarding House still, only because going home hadn't really achieved anything. Jeremy was staying here anyway, pending police investigations, and he hadn't bothered going to school before of all the pitiful looks he was bound to receive from people he really didn't care about.

"Even if something did happen to them, there's not much we can do about it," Bonnie said, biting her lip. "We don't know where Klaus has them, or even if they're in Mystic Falls. I'd do a simple location spell but I refuse to take any more blood from Jeremy."

"Maybe that's not your call to make," Jeremy said fiercely.

"Maybe you should back off," Bonnie returned, glaring at him.

They locked horns for a moment, with Stefan staring awkwardly at them, wondering how best to get their attention.

"Screw the plan," he said abruptly. "We're getting them tonight."

That caught their attention. Bonnie stared at Stefan, her jaw slack, whilst Jeremy's eyes narrowed with disbelief.

"Are you insane?" she protested. "We're not ready, not by a long shot. For starters, the spell, even with the talisman, is a lot more complicated than I first thought. It's gonna take a lot of energy and I think a good night's sleep would achieve that."

"It's cutting it a bit close, Bonnie. I mean, what if we get there too late? What if we can't find where they are?" Stefan was clearly panicking.

"Stefan, chill," Bonnie said calmly. "We don't know for sure they've been taken. In any case, we continue with the plan as per normal. There's no point panicking over nothing."

"Over nothing?" Stefan repeated faintly. "Bonnie, the full moon is _tomorrow._ We have twenty-four hours to rescue Elena before she dies! Surely, we should be grabbing every hour we can!"

"I agree, Stefan, but we have to be practical!" Bonnie was near enough shouting at this point. "It's not going to help Elena if we come barging in there, no rhyme, no reason! We stick with the plan!"

Stefan looked frustrated but decided it was probably wise not to anger Bonnie. He stormed over to the drink cabinet and poured himself a whiskey, finding that the one glass didn't suffice. He poured himself another and knocked it back, shuddering at the after taste.

"Take it easy, Stefan," Jeremy said, noticing his behaviour. "We need you good and sober for tomorrow."

Stefan was interrupted from answering by the sound of the door opening. Alaric and Caroline came through the door, followed by Isobel.

"Isobel?" Stefan stared in alarm. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping," Isobel said smoothly, removing her coat and throwing it on the couch. "That a problem?"

"You're Elena's birth mom?" Bonnie asked, the only person as yet to have not set eyes on her.

"That'd be right," Isobel replied coolly. "Bonnie Bennett, isn't it?"

Bonnie nodded, her expression full of distrust.

"What is she doing here, Rick?" Stefan asked, barely concealing his dislike as he stared at Isobel.

"She's helping…apparently." Alaric looked slightly confused. "I know it's going to seem…strange, but she honestly wants to help."

"Help, or try to have me killed again?" Stefan asked angrily.

"So, I had a problem with my daughter's boyfriend. Sue me," Isobel remarked, sitting down on the couch with a glass of sherry in her hand. "It wasn't personal, Stefan, I'm sure you're a very nice boy. I didn't want her to date a vampire. I wanted her to have a normal, vampire-free life. What mother doesn't want that for her child?"

"Funny…" Stefan snorted with disgust.

"How's Jenna, Rick? Have you checked in on her?" Jeremy asked.

"She was doing ok, the last I checked," Alaric said quietly. "But she's still messed up. Keeps sobbing your mum's name, believing she's let her down somehow." He shook his head. "It's not pretty."

"You know," Stefan said quietly, "if, by some miracle, we actually pull this off and kill Klaus…Elena's not gonna get to come back. It'll be too hard to explain it all to everyone, and honestly it's gonna drag up a whole bunch of mess we'll never have time to clean up."

Everyone fell silent, digesting this latest blow.

"But…where's she gonna go?" Jeremy asked worriedly. "She's _seventeen_. She's not got anywhere else to go. This is her home, damn it!"

"Damon and I will sort that out," Stefan said tiredly, staring aimlessly ahead. "Let's just…make it past tomorrow."

Isobel hopped off the couch and offered her phone to Stefan.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked warily.

"In this phonebook, are all the names of people who owe me favours," she explained, her voice steady. "You call them and tell them Isobel wants them in Mystic Falls right away. Don't tell them why."

"Why aren't you doing this?" Stefan asked suspiciously. "Why do I get the impression you're skipping town?"

"I am," Isobel replied. "Only because I'm going to find John who, I imagine, won't be easy to find."

"Why?"

"I'm surprised none of you have thought about this yet, an intelligent bunch like yourselves," Isobel said lazily. "John still has that device, you know. The one which lets out that annoyingly high pitched and deafening sound which incapacitates all vampires in the surrounding area."

There was a stunned silence after her little announcement. Jeremy was the only one who didn't look completely thrilled by the idea, the memory of what had happened after that so-called device had been activated still aching, even after all this time.

"Why didn't we think of it?" Stefan asked, his voice faint with shock.

"It's not bad," Bonnie admitted. "If mine fails, at least we have a back up."

Alaric whistled lowly. "It has a shot at working."

Jeremy remained quiet; he knew from experience how little a difference his input actually made and so resolved to stay quiet. He didn't like this plan one little bit, however, and stared at Bonnie, who was avoiding his eyes for some reason. With his one ally out of the picture, he now felt like the outsider he'd always been. And that feeling completely sucked.

* * *

They were marched into what looked like an underground chamber. The setting seemed quite…surreal, to say the least. It looked like it had been regurgitated from an old textbook or something. The whole area had that old time feel to it; whether it was to do with the linoleum floors, or the fact that there was a sort of decadent brown colour theme going on.

Elena was marched in first, her hands pinned to her side. She tried to do it with a bit of dignity, but there was only so much dignity you could contain when you were being pushed by two vampires as the sacrifice in this creepy ritual.

"Where are we?" she managed to hiss to Damon, who was being half dragged, half pushed alongside her.

"No idea," he hissed back. "I pride myself on knowing every inch of Mystic Falls like the back of my hand but I honestly don't know where this place even is. Not that, you know, I even got a good look at it… Too busy being unconscious, and all that…"

Elena sighed in exasperation, wishing she could get a completely serious answer out of him for once. She was pushed forwards, however, before she could pursue the line of questioning.

Klaus was not in sight, which could only be a good thing, but there were plenty other vampires in his stead. All of them were staring at her, with a kind of hungry look she knew instinctively had nothing to do with their vampire appetites. They were just eager to see the doppelganger for themselves.

One, in particular, seemed to catch her eye. He was tall, slim, with eyes that seemed to devour her appearance. He had black hair, pale skin, and looked like the traditional vampire movies and books threw at the public. His eyes were marble grey in colour, almost blue but not quite, and his face seemed to be fresh and youthful, unlike the rest who seemed to appear older.

"Ethan." Irena inclined her head as she stepped forward.

"Irena," he replied silkily, his voice almost entrancing Elena.

How could someone that evil have that smooth and silky a voice?

The two vampires seemed to encircle each other like they were predators, Irena flashing her trademark smile in his direction, which is expressionless face immediately deflected. Elena watched, feeling entranced by the whole thing, despite herself.

"So, this is the doppelganger," Ethan said, breaking the circle to examine Elena. "Interesting."

Elena restrained the urge to roll her eyes. She'd heard it all before.

He walked over to her, his cool eyes appraising her carefully, before he took a hand and lifted her chin so that he could stare into her eyes. She didn't know what he was searching for but there was some sort of purpose in his eyes she couldn't quite explain.

She blinked suddenly, and the whole room shifted and disappeared before her eyes. Puzzled, she turned to Damon for explanation but he wasn't there. She wasn't where she was, and that had been a bloody mystery to begin with. Instead, she was somewhere else, back at the Boarding House, yet not for one second did she believe she was actually there.

Cautiously, Elena began to move forwards, but it felt like she was wading through the contents of a dream. She looked around for any sign of life, even going as far as calling out Damon's name, but there was no reply. She did, however, hear voices and, with great difficultly, moved in search of the commotion.

She waded - yes, that was the only word she could think to describe what she was doing - forwards, and stopped in alarm. What she could see was beyond the impossible, unless it was Katherine. She saw herself on the couch, a video controller her in her hand, a determined look on her face.

"It's your move," the other Elena, so to speak, called coyly.

Elena stared in utter amazement at what was going on, just as Damon entered the room.

"Thank God - " she began, but he didn't seem to hear her or, incredibly, even see her.

"Be prepared to lose," he teased, hoisting himself onto the couch next to the other Elena.

What shocked her the most, however, was what happened next. He kissed her, which didn't seem so out of the blue now that she'd kissed him, but they actually looked like they were _together._ She watched them, utterly spellbound, the other Elena looking surprisingly comfortable with the situation, her eyes ever so often flickering to Damon, a pale look of almost sickening love on her face. Damon threw an arm around her, and then leaned over to whisper something in her ear, something she apparently found hilarious.

Elena stared, even as the room shifted again and she was back in the underground chamber again. She couldn't find any words; they'd all dissolved on the tip of her tongue.

Damon tried to catch her attention, to ask her what was wrong, but she was too stunned to reply. She, in herself, had no idea what had just happened.

"Interesting," Ethan remarked again, his eyebrow raised.

"What was that?" Elena breathed, her heart racing inside her chest.

"An interesting trick I picked up over the years," Ethan explained, turning away from her as if he found her boring. "It's not exactly dream walking, although that's a power I'm sure we'd all love to possess."

There was a murmur of agreement, followed by the odd laugh.

"Feeding is becoming harder and harder nowadays. So many humans are becoming aware of us, and, unfortunately, the use of vervain is becoming more and more frequent." He turned back, his face unchanged. "What I do possess, however, is an interesting ability to be able to pick up on people's thoughts. Not exactly mind reading per se; that's far too _Twilight _for me." He noticed Elena's shocked look and laughed. "I do keep up with the times, you know. It's always worth a chuckle finding out how the mindless humans perceive us. No, what I do is more…interesting. I present the individual whose thoughts I'm sort of scanning through - it's complicated to explain to a mortal - a loose interpretation of their thoughts in visual form."

Elena looked blank, as did Damon.

"Ok," he snapped, "either tell us what the hell you're on about, or go play cryptic with another hapless soul."

Ethan smiled, his smile oddly off putting, like it was something which just didn't look right.

"Your mind is quite interesting," he told Elena, as though presenting her with a compliment. "You have many different thoughts. You worry about your friends, about how you're letting them risk your necks for you, and all that sentimental garbage. You're suspicious, because you feel Stefan and Damon are keeping something from you. But…the most interesting by far, is how you feel about _him."_

He went over to Damon and forced him onto his knees, before grabbing a clump of his head and yanking his head back.

"Don't!" Elena shrieked, then realized what she'd just done.

"Interesting." Ethan smirked, glancing at Irena who looked irritated, if nothing else. "You see, to enlighten this gentleman here, the thought which intrigued me the most was the fact you care deeply for him, even though you're in love with Stefan. Exactly the same as Katerina. But you secretly wonder what it'd be like to be in a relationship with him. So, as a sort of welcoming gift, I showed you. Of course, I did censor out the less pleasant parts; the clash of tempers, the tantrums, the jealous rages both of you fly into. Other than that, that's the way it would've played out. Maybe…" He looked thoughtful. "Like I said, it's a very _loose _interpretation, not a prediction."

"Wow," Damon said quietly. "You're a dick on all kinds of levels, aren't you?"

Irena snarled, and made to attack him, but Ethan waved an impatient hand in her direction.

"I think these next twenty four hours are going to be very entertaining," he said quietly, focusing his gaze on Damon, a look of faint excitement in his eyes. "Take him back to the cell; Klaus wants to see the girl."

"Yes, _sir_," Irena remarked, rather bitterly for someone who was supposedly on the same side as him.

If it wasn't for the vervain still in his system and on his skin, Damon might've fought back. He tried, but he remembered he was dealing with vampires who were centuries older than him. And he'd made a silent promise to himself, and to Elena, that he was going to get out of this one fighting.

After all, he still had a speech to make to her, and he felt a little bit more cheerful about making it now that he knew rejection wasn't necessarily a certainty anymore. Not after what had happened today.

But they still had a long way to go and, even though it killed him to say it, Ethan's words had resonated with him. He started to realize maybe he and Elena were compatible on certain levels, but on others, they remained woefully different. She was good and kind, with a record as clean as a whistle. He, however, was impulsive and selfish, prone to snapping at the slightest turn, and with a record as dark as the devil's. What could he offer her, really?

Ironically, it seemed, when she'd kissed him, hoping to fuse them together, it had sort of set in stone what he'd already known but had refused to consider because of his stubbornness.

Even though he loved her with all his heart - his cold, dead, unfeeling heart - he knew the odds were stacked against them ever making it as couple.

The odds always were.

* * *

A/n: DELENA! Ok, there was a LOT of fluff in this chapter, so don't say I deprive you of it! But they are far from a couple, so expect more angst and a little bit of drama before they resolve things. Thanks so much for the reviews! Let's see if we can reach 100 reviews in the next couple of chapters! I actually have a sequel planned to this, so you have LOTS to look forward to! YAY!


	13. The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

_Chapter 13: The Deep Breath Before the Plunge_

* * *

Stefan toyed with the phone in his hand, bouncing it from one to the other as the anxiety threatened to overwhelm him. He could have looked on the bright side; whether or not they survived this thing tomorrow, at least either way it would be over. But those who knew Stefan well knew that thinking positively wasn't exactly his strong point. He preferred a realistic approach on life, not to surround every moment of every day with blindingly optimistic thoughts.

"Oh just a pick a hand and just _hold it_," an irritable voice snapped.

He turned around and saw Caroline hovering by the door, her expression, for once, unfathomable. He could only really detect irritation, given away by the sharp tones in her voice. She had her arms folded, looking as though she was studying him carefully, although he had no idea what it was she was looking for.

"How long have you been there, Caroline?" he asked, holding the phone still.

"Long enough to realize you're just as fed up as waiting as I am," Caroline announced, speeding over and helping herself to the liquor Damon usually helped himself to. "I mean, it's the full moon tomorrow and we've kind of only got one shot at saving Elena. And, no offence, Bonnie doesn't exactly seem confident of this spell she's supposedly got up her sleeve. Odds aren't in our favour much, if you ask me."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Stefan replied grumpily, reaching for the liquor himself.

Caroline knocked back the liquor. "Just giving it to you straight, Stefan. Somebody has to. Oh, remind me to tell Damon when he gets back that you've mastered sarcasm. I'm sure he'll be proud."

Somehow, Stefan managed a weak smile in her direction, which she returned. How was it Caroline Forbes, of all people, had ended up comforting _him?_ He still remembered wiping the blood of her chin and holding her in his arms as she sobbed about all the changes which had happened to her. He never thought he'd end up missing _those_ days.

"So, what's with the extra dose of broodiness today?" Caroline asked quietly. "Is it because of tomorrow? Or because of something else?"

"I'm worried about tomorrow, Caroline. Like you said, it's a pretty big day. Why, what else would I be worrying about?" he demanded, looking suspicious.

"Damon being stuck with Elena." Like most things, Caroline made it come across as something rather trivial to worry about. "I mean, I would be worried and a bit jealous if, say, Matt was trapped with someone who blatantly loved him."

Stefan sighed heavily, managing to conceal a loud growl at the height of Caroline's insensitivity. He had to mentally remember her personality would've been magnified by her…condition. And, in some areas (although he'd never mention it to either of them) she was remarkably like Damon, which was probably why they butted heads so often.

"It's not an issue," he remarked, his voice extraordinarily cool.

"Sure it's not," Caroline said sarcastically. "Stefan, I think I know you a little bit than you know yourself. You've gotta at least _considered_ the possibility they might be…bonding. They're _trapped_ together, Stefan. It's not like they're just gonna sit there ignoring each other."

"Caroline!" Stefan complained. "Can we not talk about that please? I thought you were watching Tyler Lockwood. Shouldn't you be pestering _him_?"

"Would do but his mom's home," Caroline replied, pouring herself another drink. "And I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much. Why would she? It's not like Tyler and I have always been buddies. Stuck up cow's probably still mad at me for attempting to flush his head down the toilet in fifth grade." She saw Stefan's expression and flushed. "Long story…"

"Right…" Stefan had no comment. "I don't know whether I trust Isobel enough to give her so-called 'contacts' a ring."

"Now you decide to be picky about who you trust?" Caroline said incredulously. "I seem to recall Damon telling me you wanted to unleash Katherine at one point."

"Since when are you two on civil talking terms?" Stefan suddenly teased. "I can't seem to recall a conversation involving you two which didn't involve some sort of death threat."

"That's _Damon_, not me," Caroline huffed. "It's not my fault he can't remove his own head out of his ass for five minutes to talk 'civil'."

Stefan chuckled, sipping at his beverage as he stared at the phone in his hands. Surely, desperate times called for desperate measures? But he knew Isobel wasn't happy that he was still alive and breathing, which was part of the reason he distrusted her. The main reason was that she'd just walked in and out of Elena's life – using and threatening her in the process- like she didn't give a damn and so he had to underline and question her so-called motive for doing all of this. Elena had been under threat multiple times and she'd never swooped in before; which left Klaus as the only possible – and genuine – motive she had for helping.

"I hate this," Caroline suddenly said moodily. "The waiting, I mean. I've been assigned to watch Tyler and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone when he changes and you guys get to go fight."

"Trust me, Car, there's going to be a minimal amount of fighting," Stefan replied, absent-mindedly. "In fact, I think given another choice Bonnie wouldn't have _us_ there either. She's incorporated the device into the plan; me and Jeremy and Alaric will go in and get Elena, whilst Bonnie activates the device and incapacitates all of those sons of bitches."

Caroline stared at him, looking mildly impressed.

"That's all well and good on paper, Stefan, but can I just point out the _huge_ flaw in your plan? When that device is activated, surely you will be affected too? You'll go down with the rest of 'em."

"Bonnie's going to create a ring which will protect me from that device," Stefan explained.

"Bonnie's doing a lot of the work," Caroline observed. "If I were her, I'd tell you all to get the hell away from me and let me have five minutes without having to use all that hocus pocus stuff."

Stefan sighed and looked suddenly glum.

"I know we're asking a lot of her, but it'll be worth it if we actually pull off what we say we can pull off," he said quietly. "It _has_ to be worth it."

"Even if we lose Bonnie in the process?" Caroline asked, her expression downcast. "I know too much magic wears her down. I asked her if there was a possibility she could die and she didn't exactly give me a straight answer. Despite what some people may think, I do have the ability to put two and two together."

With a heavy sigh, she plonked herself onto the couch, looking anxious. Stefan couldn't fathom which was stressing her more – the fact that one of her best friends was in the hands of the darkest vampire of them all, who fully intended to kill her, or the fact that there was a chance her other best friend could die in the attempt to fight back. He wanted to comfort her in some way, but he was unable to figure out a way without seeming like a dick.

What did girls do in this situation?

He sat down next to Caroline and, hesitantly, rested a hand on her shoulder, wishing he could summon up the words to tell her everything would be alright. The fact was he didn't know that; he didn't want to lie to her because she didn't deserve to be lied to. She'd done more than enough to prove herself worthy of being a good friend to fight for, no matter what Damon said.

"I know you're the love of my best friend's life," Caroline said slowly, "but you suck at comforting a girl when she's down."

Stefan laughed; now sarcasm and morbid humour he could deal with. He _had_ had centuries of coping with Damon, after all.

* * *

Elena was shoved into a dark room, all fear and trepidation returning at the sight of Klaus, whose back was turned to her. He was staring out of a window, his head only turning slightly at the sound of footsteps.

"Ah, hello again," he said, acting like this was just a casual meeting, not like he would be the slaughterer at her own sacrifice ritual.

She didn't even give him the courtesy of responding; she just remained silently defiant, her expression giving away the sheer fury she felt at this very real, very frightening threat being in _her_ town with all the people she loved mere minutes away. She would give anything to wake up and be in the arms of Stefan, with all of this turning out to be some hideous nightmare.

Klaus finally rotated so he was staring at her.

"Leave, please," he commanded to the guards beside her.

They inclined their heads, before shoving her forwards and beating a hasty retreat out of the room. Elena's defiant act, she realized, was just an act. She could hear each terrified breath as they left her lips.

"I am not an evil man as the stories probably paint me out to be," he said slowly, stepping forwards. "I have witnessed history's greatest hits for myself. I have walked this earth for much longer than I should have. I am one of the world's most feared – and beloved – supernatural creatures. But for all those advantages, I am still very much bound to the darkness. I possess a ring which allows me to travel throughout daylight but…" He lowered his voice, as if for dramatic effect. "Just because you're not _literally_ bound to something, doesn't mean you've got complete and utter freedom. I want to be able to feel the sun on my face and know my survival doesn't rest on a damn _ring._ I want to be able to hunt whenever and wherever I choose and know the world continues to buy the somewhat overstated fact that we are slaves to the darkness.

"But most of all? I want anything and everything that pisses me off _gone._ Tolerance is one of my unsung virtues; patience is another. And, finally, my patience and tolerance levels are going to reap their rewards. The world will be my play toy again. And everyone who has _ever_ crossed me will get more than they bargained for. Starting with the Petrova line."

He strode forwards and gave a half smile, an act which caught her off guard, before pulling back his fist and striking her hard. She staggered back, stunned by the strength and wounded by the act. She bit her lip hard in the process and struggled to keep her defiant act together, so close was she to completely falling apart.

"I know I'm a bit of a bluff old traditionalist, so really shouldn't be hitting women," Klaus breathed, looking nauseatingly excited. "But you have to understand…your so-called _ancestors_ really pissed me off. I didn't hesitate to slaughter Katerina's family – who, incidentally, is next on my list – and I won't hesitate with yours." He casually brought out a shiny dagger from his side, kissing the blade with a sickening amount of affection. "Cross me and your loved ones pay. But, because I'm fair, I'll consider your first escape strike _one_. Just thought it was fair to warn you…"

Elena didn't reply; she could feel how white she was, how pale terror had made her in the space of thirty seconds. She glanced down at her hands which were shaking madly and tried to remember how to breathe, with some difficulty.

"Have some rest," Klaus added, as her vampire escorts returned. "Tomorrow's the big day. You're gonna need your sleep."

He didn't give the traditional evil laugh you'd expect all villainous characters to possess. His stare was enough to freak her out, the way his eyes followed her out of the room. She'd never come across a more terrifying being; in fact, she'd rather have taken on a hundred Elijahs than Klaus.

She winced as the blow he delivered her made a rather rude alarm call. She rubbed her cheek and tried to refrain from crying. She was stronger than that. She wasn't someone who took crap lying down.

The escorts pushed her back into her cell and she barely registered Damon as she crawled towards a corner so she could curl up there and just be miserable alone. But, given that Damon was here, it was hard to pull off that illusion.

"Elena?" Damon called gently, noticing she looked distraught. "What – What _happened?_"

"Is it bad that I feel sorry for Katherine?" she whispered, bringing her knees to her chest.

Damon frowned. "Not bad," he said slowly, "just…not normal. Why?"

Elena turned around and he saw a large ugly bruise on the left side of her face and couldn't help gasping.

"What happened?" he demanded, wincing even though it wasn't an injury he'd personally sustained.

"Klaus murdered Katherine's entire family, Damon," Elena said, ignoring the question. "And he threatened to do the same to mine. We knew Katherine was running from someone. Now we know who she was running from." She wiped away a treacherous tear from her eye. "It was stupid of me to think for one moment I could live a peaceful life with a vampire for a boyfriend." She snorted with disgust. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

Damon watched her, for once no smartass response available for him to use. Ideally, he'd be using this opportunity to join in slating Saint Stefan but he couldn't find it in his heart to try. She looked so…broken that he figured even him just opening his mouth would be a bad idea.

So he just sat there, fighting the urge to take her inside his arms and just _hug_ her. Somehow, he thought she would be resistant to the idea and it took all his power to go along with her wishes.

"I brought all this on," Elena said suddenly, her voice thick with emotion.

"Huh?" Damon looked blank.

"All my family, all my _friends_, are in danger because of me," she choked, not even bothering to prevent the flow of tears now. "It wasn't because you came into town, or because Stefan and I fell in love… It's because of me. It's all because of me…"

She succumbed to her tears and Damon couldn't resist the urge any longer. He shuffled over to her and pulled her inside his arms and wasn't sure whether to be relieved or concerned that she showed no sign of resisting. She just…deflated, for lack of a better word to use. He stroked her hair, and realized, somewhat inappropriately, given the circumstances, that he was falling harder for her every single second.

"Don't think for a _second_ this is your fault, Elena," he said fiercely. "It isn't. I might not know how to get us the hell out of here but I do know that. You're the strongest and bravest person I know; don't let that son of a bitch break you."

But she seemed to be deaf to his words. Her expression flickered in between complete despair and devastation, changing from one to the other like a set of traffic lights. He rocked her gently, his arms gripping her tightly as if he hoped to _physically_ pass her hope and strength.

Damon stared aimlessly around the room, even long after Elena had fallen asleep inside his arms. There wasn't a lot to do really when you had the woman you loved lying across your lap, although he couldn't really complain about that. The vervain was still in his system, weakening him, and he couldn't really move so well without the sensation electrocuting him, for lack of a better word.

But it struck him, even though they were both in mortal peril beyond anything they'd ever experienced before, and he was pretty sure unless rescue came pretty damn quick he was going to lose Elena forever, that right here, right now, there was no other place in the world he'd rather have been.

* * *

Isobel sauntered up the pathway, not really surprised by John's choice in houses. It pretty much summarised his personality, in a way. You had the neat, well kept exterior, which looked pretty much like one of those houses you saw in magazines which were definitely in the category of 'pricey'. Inside, however, she could see things were scattered about carelessly and the whole place seemed quite unfriendly, although she couldn't really surmise how she'd come to that conclusion.

She knocked on the door, tapping her heels against the ground impatiently. She heard movement inside, as well as a loud muffled 'Go away!' She allowed the tiniest of smirks to flicker across her face.

The door opened slightly and she saw John's face peering out at her. Immediately, she knew what he was going to do and shoved the door open before he could slam it on her. His eyes flashed with panic, although his face looked expressionless; she could tell he hadn't wanted to cross paths with her again.

"Relax, John," Isobel said impatiently. "I know you wanted to see the back of me, but we have a pressing problem which lies on your doorstep. I notice you haven't strayed too far from Mystic Falls, presumably in case either Elena or Jeremy get into trouble. Well, lucky for me, you're easy to trace."

John stared at her warily. "What do you want from me? I'm done with vampires," he spat, his face twisting with disgust. "I try and exterminate the lot and my own daughter and nephew turn on me. I was nearly killed trying to do the right thing and now you're presumably back to tell me the worst is not over. Well, if it's a couple of spare tomb vampires, I'm sure the _Salvatores_ can handle it…"

"Are you done with your tantrum?" Isobel asked calmly. "Ideally, a _mature_ adult is really necessary for this conversation but, by all means, continue to rant about how everything you do goes horribly wrong. I won't care, but it'll be amusing to pin the blame on you if something happens to your _daughter_ and you were too busy whining to help."

John groaned and reluctantly let her in, immediately heading for the bottle of liquor on his shelf.

"Vampires are the bane of my existence," he complained, flinging himself down on his worn out looking couch.

"And humans are the bane of mine," Isobel retorted. "Now, let's quit whining and allow me to tell you Klaus is in Mystic Falls. And he has Elena."

John, who had been in the middle of taking a gulp, choked with alarm, his eyes widening with shock. He regained his composure after a few seconds, but the shock never left his eyes.

"Impossible," he snorted. "He's a myth."

"Vampires are supposed to be myths too, John," Isobel reminded him, "and yet here we are. It's more than possible that Klaus is not a myth either. And you forget I actually _know_ the guy…" She lifted her lips into a hint of a smirk. "Would I lie to you, John?"

"You're a vampire," John muttered. "Of course you would."

Isobel sighed and sat down on the opposite couch, looking directly at John with a cold expression. She could find no sympathy for him, or for any other human being for that matter. Even with Elena, there was only the tiniest part of her which seemed to care and that tiny part was currently the dominating voice inside her mind.

"Here…" She tossed him a newspaper. "Thought you might like to see this."

John caught the paper and glanced at the front page, the hue of his skin turning white for a second as he saw Elena smiling up at him. The article was pretty descriptive, describing how the authorities had found her and the reaction of her friends and family.

"She's dead?" he said, frowning. "You told me she was missing!"

"She is. You forget that there are _witches_ in the nearby area, witches who could easily fool an entire town into thinking one of their number is dead," Isobel snapped. "Considering what you _know_, I'm surprised you're a doubter. Here I am, presenting you with evidence, and you're ignoring it. It's so…human."

She snatched the liquor off of him and downed it all, ignoring his protests.

"Alright, even if Klaus was real, what do you want me to do? I can't just show up again, unannounced," he said, trying to be practical.

"All you have to do is give me that device, and I'll handle the rest," Isobel said smoothly. "It'll incapacitate them long enough for me to slip in, kill Klaus, and slip out again. Easy as pie."

John glared at her, knowing there was something she wasn't telling him; there was some piece of the plan she wasn't revealing. He knew her well enough to recognize the signs.

"And what are your _real_ motives for helping Elena?" he asked suspiciously. "It's not down to you caring, that's for sure. You might have the tiniest of weak spots when it comes to Elena, but not enough to lead the charge into rescuing her. And I know you're scared as hell of Klaus, so don't give me that crap about killing him. You've got another motive, and fair enough you can't tell it to the Salvatores, but you can tell me. Hell, I've stuck by you all these years; I could've killed you but I didn't."

"Because you still have that little boy crush on me, I know," Isobel sighed. "When will you get over that?" She rose fluently to her feet. "You're right about one thing though – I do have an ulterior motive for helping the Salvatores. I want Elena out of Klaus' hands, that's something I'm not lying about. But, once this all over, I want Elena's life to be free of all vampires. They've filled me in with their little plan and it actually fits in quite nicely with my own."

"What are you up to, Isobel?" John asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, I'll help the Salvatore brothers get rid of Klaus and his minions. They'll go in, guns blazing, and just won't come out again." She stared meaningfully at John. "I mean it, John. I won't have vampires in Elena's life."

"Again, what ulterior motive do you have behind that?" John pressed. "Because I genuinely care about the kid, whereas with you…Well, I know you don't care about her. You could care; you just choose not to."

"True." Isobel wandered over to the window. "I never wanted a child, John; I'm not gonna sugar-coat the truth. Elena knows that anyway. But even if you can't understand that vampires might possess a shred of humanity, understand that we know and respect loyalty. Elena's a part of me and I can't ignore that. That doesn't mean I'm gonna be Mom of the Year but it means I won't let some Original with a giant stick up his ass tear her to shreds."

"So, you _do_ care?" John looked confused.

Isobel shrugged. "Dress it up how you will. If I'm gonna rid Mystic Falls of vampires, might as well not do it halfway."

"She really cares about Stefan," John warned. "In fact, I'd go as far as saying she loves him. I'm not saying don't do it; I'm just saying you're gonna mess her up."

"She'll survive," was Isobel's cold response.

* * *

Elena's eyes opened wearily, her head surprisingly comfortable. She pushed herself off to figure out why she was so comfortable…and her whole face turned red when she'd found out what – or who – she was leaning on.

"Have a good sleep?" Damon asked cockily, a wide smirk on his face. "Yeah…I slept well too. I was surprisingly comfortable too…"

"I fell asleep on you?" she questioned, her voice resembling the voice you possess when you have a blocked nose. "Sorry…"

"Don't be," Damon said, still smirking. "Was the best sleep I've had in years."

"You're terrible," she informed him.

"And you talk when you sleep," he retorted cheekily.

She didn't look surprised.

"So I've been told," she said with resignation. "I think the craziest thing I've said in my sleep was 'I like your cheese'." She glanced at him. "What did I say?"

"A load of mumbo-jumbo, mostly," he said, his smirk never leaving his face. "And then my name left your mouth…"

"No!" Elena gasped, looking mortified.

She'd been having his dream where she and Damon had been walking in the woods, when a werewolf had emerged. It'd chased after them, forcing Damon to throw his arms around her and protect her. The scene had morphed into the one Ethan had presented her, only things had become…hot and heavy between them. God knows what she'd said, but it had to be something bad if Damon was smirking at her like he knew something she didn't.

"Well," Damon conceded, "it wasn't _what_ you said, so much as _how_ you said it." His eyes twinkled. "Had no idea your sweet and innocent mind could be so easily corrupted with such _dirty_ thoughts, Elena."

She blushed and buried her head in her arms.

"Oh, relax, _Edna_ and don't be so prudish," Damon mocked.

"I hate having you as a cellmate," she muttered. "You've no understanding of the concept of _privacy._"

"It's hard to understand that concept when we're trapped together," Damon said, in a sing-song voice. "Or haven't you noticed yet? Don't worry; I'll give you time to adjust to it…"

She could hear him biting back the laughter and hit him on the arm, wishing she could do a little bit more damage than that. But she liked the fact they'd reached the point where they were easygoing with each other again. She couldn't stay mad at him, even if she was only pretending to be mad.

"So…" Damon leered at her. "Wanna re-enact what your dream was about?"

"Nope," Elena fired back. "Sorry to disappoint you, Damon."

"Why not?" he asked, pouting playfully. "I would've thought, being your last night on Earth and all that, it would've been an experience you would've wanted to have." He stretched and his cocky grin widened. "I've been called the best, you know."

"I don't think it counts when you say it."

"Ouch. My pride just took a massive punch to the gut."

"Well, maybe it'll take you down a peg or two…" Elena smirked.

Her playful expression subsided when she realized her life was rapidly drawing to a close. The thought of death terrified her. What terrified her even more, however, was this growing feeling inside of her she couldn't shake off. At first, she'd put it down as being the returning affection of Damon she'd felt before all this mess had started. Then, when it had kept on growing, she began to question it, wondering if it was something more.

And now? Now, she was pretty sure this feeling inside was nothing inconsequential; rather it was something which would fester quietly inside her until it devoured her. But admitting it would be admitting that despite everything he'd put her through, she'd lowered her guard enough to allow him to enter her heart, and nothing good could surely come of that?

And, crazy as it sounded, she had this funny feeling she wasn't the only who was fighting the urge to reveal a great truth.

* * *

**A/n: I had to end on a fluffy note. How depressing was this week's episode of Vampire Diaries? I won't spoil it for you but one word…Damon. *sigh* Bless him. Anyway, next chapter is the big showdown! Also, I had to include the Isobel/John scene so we could uncover her true motives for helping. Also, I love the whole "It's all my fault" Elena scene much more with Damon than with Stefan :P That's just my opinion though… Thank you all SO much for over 100 reviews! You guys are just the best! **


	14. By the Light of the Moon

_Chapter 14: By the Light of the Moon_

* * *

The third day they'd all been counting down to dawned bright and early, the sun momentarily fooling them into thinking it was just another day in Mystic Falls. But, after the initial shock of realizing today was D-day, everyone suddenly launched into action, with Jeremy and Bonnie running over the plan until it'd driven everyone crazy and Caroline skipping off to help Tyler Lockwood with his upcoming transformation.

Alaric initially hadn't wanted to leave Jenna, who it seemed was gradually starting to recover from the shock of 'losing' Elena - the grief was another matter entirely - but his expertise in slaying and hunting vampires was sorely needed and, as a human, the device's activation wouldn't affect him at all. He also wanted to help Elena as much as he could because his affection for her bordered on father-daughterly, even though he knew, once this was all over, there was no explanation possible which could allow her to stay in Mystic Falls.

"Right, this is it," Bonnie stated, as they gathered at the Boarding House. "We only have one shot at this. One. Let's not screw it up." She stared at Jeremy, who was frowning but paying attention. "Stefan, you're job is to get in, get Elena, and get out again. Don't waste time killing anyone." She paused, taking a breath. "Mr Saltzman, yours and Jeremy's job is to be his back up. If anything goes wrong, shoot first and ask questions later. Once Elena and Damon are out, get yourselves out and I'll activate the device. Then, once the vampires are suitably preoccupied with trying to make the noise stop, I'll do the spell and they'll be incinerated."

"Bonnie, I…" Jeremy began, but she interrupted him.

"It's gonna take a lot of energy to keep the spell going, so try and save yourselves if you run into trouble," she continued, aware Jeremy was trying to cut across her. They just didn't have a lot of time to waste.

Stefan toyed with Isobel's phone absent-mindedly, realizing no matter which way tonight went, it would be over. He didn't pay a lot of attention to Bonnie's detailing of the plan; as much as Caroline's accusation had riled him up yesterday, he knew a part of his worry and frustration did lie in the fact that Damon and Elena were trapped together. He wondered if it was normal to be so much in love with someone that when they were away you felt like ripping apart the entire world just to get them back.

There was also the added problem of the raging jealousy he had to control, on top of the never-ending thirst that was just one of the many downfalls of being a vampire. He constantly worried that Damon was slowly clawing his way back into Elena's heart, which he didn't mind so much if it wasn't for the fact Damon, as hard as he tried to pretend he was a cold, callous creature, blatantly loved her. Yet he knew if he allowed his jealousy to show, he'd be pushing Elena away, practically into Damon's arms.

"Stefan? Anybody home?" Jeremy waved a hand in front of Stefan's face. "Stefan?"

He blinked rapidly. "What's going on?"

Jeremy gestured around the now empty room. "Meeting's adjourned. We should, you know, get ready and stuff. Rick's gone back to get his case of many weapons." He chuckled. "That dude is so cool."

Stefan rose to his feet, looking determined, although whatever mental decision he'd made he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with what was going down tonight.

"You ready for tonight?" he asked Jeremy with concern. "You know how this'll go down, if things don't go our way."

"So we die." Jeremy looked remarkably unconcerned. "I'd rather die knowing I did what I could to save my sister than remain on the sidelines like some sort of wimp." He slung his rucksack over his shoulders. "You know, one of the last things my mom said me was to watch out for my sister. I liked that she trusted me with that responsibility." He suddenly looked uncomfortable, as he normally did when emotional topics cropped up in conversation. "I liked that she never looked down on me just because I was the younger sibling."

There was a moment of complete awkwardness where Stefan didn't know what to say and Jeremy didn't know how to move past the vulnerable moment he'd accidentally created for himself.

"Anyway…" he cleared his throat. "I'm off to school." He saw Stefan's incredulous look. "I know…I said as much to Rick but he said that we've got time to kill and, let's face it, I've missed more than enough school recently." He made to leave the room. "I'm not gonna be able to concentrate or anything, but whatever…" Stefan hid an amused smile, realizing Jeremy hated the idea of any sort of normality now, although the idea he'd embraced the supernatural with open arms wasn't something to smile about, it was something to get his head checked about.

The room was empty now, which left him time to consider his thoughts. He was anxious and terrified, although he wouldn't show it to anyone. This wasn't just a simple stake-and-kill mission they were on. He had a list as long as his arm of the things that could go wrong, and it frightened him that it wouldn't be their necks that would be on the line if they failed - it would be Elena's.

He placed Isobel's phone down for a moment and retrieved his own, surprised to see there was one unread message there - from Damon. Having not checked his phone in a while, he wasn't surprised that it had been there for a while - over twenty four hours, at least - and he cautiously opened it, knowing his brother _never _sent him texts. The odd annoying phone call, sure, but never a text.

_Got someone on the inside. _

Stefan frowned; it was a very vague text. What did Damon mean? Inside of where? He tried reading it aloud, putting emphasis on a different word each time but it sounded the same no matter how he read it.

"What a time to be unhelpful, Damon," he sighed, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

He'd tried ringing his brother before, to no avail. He couldn't help fearing the worst because surely if Damon had been in peak physical condition he would've busted out by now…

Maybe this wasn't a text from Damon. Maybe someone had stolen his phone and sent the text to Stefan with a more sinister objective in mind. Having said that, he could think of about a million different texts which would have a more clear, sinister tone to them. As far as threatening texts went, this one was poorly constructed, which made him immediately dismiss the theory. He could only conclude Damon had wanted to tell him something important but couldn't ring him, for whatever reason.

That, to his mind, was more disturbing than the idea someone could've taken his phone, although he couldn't explain why. And what surprised him even more was how fierce the bond between himself and Damon had become over the past few months. Damon might've joked and tried to deny it was still there, but, like he'd said before, his older brother had had plenty of chances to kill him and hadn't. In fact, he'd saved his ass more times than anything else.

And Stefan would always be grateful for Elena bringing out his humanity, even if he wasn't always a hundred percent comfortable with the time they spent together.

* * *

As the day crawled on, Jeremy felt his nerves grow at an alarmingly fast rate. He felt sick and nervous, although he'd never let it show. Thankfully, his last class of the day was taught by the frail Mrs Lockley and he managed to get himself excused so that he could go home early.

On the way out, he ran into Bonnie, who seemed to have thought along the same lines as he had.

"Hey," he greeted her. "I see you decided to skip last period like me."

"Clearly," she returned, not quite meeting his eyes. "I didn't particularly wanna go in today full stop but my dad…well, he doesn't know what's happening, so he just thinks I'm 'acting out' because of Grams." She sighed heavily. "I don't think he would've bought the explanation that I was too busy planning to entomb and kill a bunch of psychopathic vampires, who just so happened to be planning on sacrificing my best friend, to go to school."

"You could've tried," Jeremy joked, "see what he said."

Bonnie smiled, although it was a tight-lipped smile, as though she was giving herself no room to be distracted. She was walking at a fast pace, eager to get away from the building, and Jeremy struggled to keep up with her.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"I'm going to go home and do a locations spell on Damon and Elena's whereabouts," she said, still storming ahead. "Stefan has a pretty good idea where they are but I want to be sure. This is not the night for letting little details fall through the cracks or disappear completely."

"Don't you need my blood?" Jeremy pointed out.

Bonnie stopped and turned around so she was facing him, her expression calculating.

"I'm using Stefan's instead," she admitted reluctantly. "I can't take anymore of your blood, I just can't. Hurting you, even if it's not out of malicious intent, is something I can't do."

He stepped forwards, so that their faces - and their lips - were only inches apart.

"Don't you think that's for me to worry about, not you?" he asked.

"Jeremy…" Bonnie protested weakly, not entirely sure if she was protesting at how close he was to her, or the fact he seemed to have no concern for his own safety.

"Please don't hate me for doing this," he begged, as he took her head in between his hands and leaned in to kiss her lips.

She resisted at first, purely on principle - it was an unwritten rule you didn't go after your best friend's brother - but then succumbed, realizing this was something she'd wanted to do for a while, ever since they'd talked quietly in Jeremy's room about how they were both alone. She liked him, a lot, and it bothered her that he was a part of this whole mission. She would've preferred it if he was at home whilst they attempted the most ambitious - and impossible - rescue plan ever. He'd have been unhappy, even angry at being left behind, but at least he would've been safe.

She was the one to break off the kiss, her eyes welling up unexpectedly. Despite the fact they had a lot of people on their side - Isobel, Lucy, Alaric - she wasn't entirely optimistic about the results of tonight. And she knew there was a good chance she wasn't going to last out the night, never mind everyone else. So, if this was her final day, she couldn't exactly say she regretted the kiss; she regretted the fact that they couldn't have built up to this moment the way normal people did, with dates and flowers and candles.

"I - I've gotta go," she blurted out, breaking away from him entirely and running off, frightened by the fact that even he seemed to sense the premature goodbye between them.

* * *

From the small window in their cell, Elena could see night was rapidly falling. It wouldn't be long now. She felt sick and started pacing in her cell, much to the faint amusement of Damon.

"If you do that enough, you might be able to wear the ground down enough to let us escape," he commented, his eyes on her.

"You think now's the time for humour?" she demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.

"It's the perfect time for humour!" Damon exclaimed. "It's our last day on earth! Why, would you prefer it if we talked about morbid things, recited some Sylvia Plath poems, and spend our last few hours crying about how unfair life is? In case you haven't noticed, Elena, I don't do emotions."

"You seemed to do emotions on the night you tried to kill Jeremy," Elena fired back, her irritation at the situation clearly showing.

"Oh, not this again." Damon sighed. "I thought I was forgiven?"

Elena snorted, the events of last night clearly forgotten. She seemed to be using anger to hide her fear, a rather predictable thing for humans - and, sometimes, vampires - to do. But he continued to watch her, concern for her mingled in with the humour that was always present in his eyes.

"You wanna be mad about that? Fine. But let me tell you something," he said, sitting up. "You want me to be 'open and honest' so I'm gonna give it a bash. That night, when I came to see you, Katherine had come to see me."

She let out a small sigh but, despite the fact she clearly looked pissed off, he saw a flash of intrigue in her eyes, so he continued.

"Despite everything, I found I still cared about her. I'd spent so long searching for her, clinging onto the love - which, as it turned out, had been utterly one-sided, by the way - we'd shared, that when she came to see me, I couldn't help but try to find the Katherine I'd loved before. But she said she'd only loved Stefan. It'd never been me." The pain of that encounter entered his voice, though he tried to hide it.

Elena turned her head to stare at him, a kind of horrified look of recognition emerging. She'd told Damon a similar sort of thing, as he'd battled to prove there was a part of her which felt something for him, and that's when he'd snapped. At the time, it'd made no sense, because surely he'd known her feelings for Stefan were never going to change. Now, however, it made perfect sense. He'd been essentially rejected twice in one evening, with both the women he cared deeply about telling him their affections lay with Stefan, not him.

_Oh, God. _It all made sense now. And she suddenly felt like the world's biggest bitch.

"So, when you came to see me…" She couldn't finish the sentence; she felt physically sick at the way she'd acted.

Really, though, what had he expected her to do? Or say? She couldn't have kissed him back, and she couldn't have pushed him away, not when liquor and sheer determination had been the forces driving him.

"I shouldn't have backed you in a corner, Elena," Damon said, gazing into her beautiful, doe-like eyes. "It was my issue, not yours."

She opened her mouth to make a comment - an apology - but the door opened before she could even get a syllable out. Irena stood at the corner of the door, her entire stance menacing. Though she remained unsmiling, there was a flash of triumph in her eyes. She was wearing a short, dark skirt and a white blouse, the sort of outfit you'd typically wear to an office.

"Time to go," she announced, her voice ringing with authority.

"I'll take them," a new voice announced.

A dark haired man appeared at the door, his eyes flickering from Damon to Elena in the space of a few seconds, his gaze lingering briefly on the former, which was unusual considering the amount of attention Elena usually reigned in. He was a vampire, but didn't seem to possess as much vampire beauty Elena had come to expect. His nose was an odd shape, for starters, and his eyes were a murky blue-grey colour. There was a scar which trailed down the left side of his face she found fascinating, although she didn't gawk at it, knowing that would've been impolite. He was dark skinned, fairly tall, and seemed to be dress

"Walter?" Irena sounded surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought Klaus sent you on reconnaissance to Egypt?"

"I'm sure that's what he told you," Walter said, his lips curling unpleasantly, as though a nasty taste had entered his mouth. "See, I don't think Klaus entirely trusts you, Irena. Not since you were the one who gave him false information on Katerina's whereabouts to protect your sister."

Irena blanched. Whatever she'd been expecting him to say, that clearly wasn't it.

"That's why he turned you, right?" Walter continued, glancing at Damon again. "Because he wanted you to feel the effect of having betrayed him for eternity? Because he wanted you to be kept apart from Alexa as punishment? Am I getting close to the right answer?"

Elena watched this exchange with surprise. For some reason, it seemed not all of Klaus' henchmen seemed to get along. There was a certain bitterness between the two of them and she looked towards Damon, preparing to exchange a confused look with him so that she could feel comforted by the fact she wasn't the only one in the dark here.

To her surprise however, his eyes were on Walter's, his face, for once, expressionless. What was he up to? Why did his dark eyes not convey the same frustration, the same confusion, hers did?

"Personal matters aside," Irena said, clearly trying to regain her dignity, "it's time to bring them up to Klaus. The ritual is almost ready to begin." She drew herself up to her full height. "Since you clearly have it covered, I'll let you have the pleasure of bringing them up to Klaus."

She threw a contemptuous glance in his direction, and a triumphant one in Elena's, before storming off, her hair streaming behind her as if it had been caught in the wind.

Walter seemed to wait until he left before he entered the room and closed the door, folding his arms and grinning in Damon's direction. To Elena's surprise - and that was putting it mildly - Damon grinned back.

"You took your time getting here," Damon said, reaching out a hand so that Walter could pull him up. They shook hands.

"I'm sorry…" Elena said slowly. "Am I missing something here?"

They both turned towards her.

"Elena, this is Walter," Damon introduced. "He's an old friend." He looked uncomfortable. "That's not a sentence I can say that often, seeing how over ninety percent of the people I used to interact with ended up as lunch."

"Really?" Elena eyed up Walter with new interest. "How do you know each other?"

"We go a long way back," Walter said casually. "I helped him clean an old mess in Seattle. Dana, wasn't it?"

"She doesn't need to, er, know about that," Damon said hurriedly. But he could feel Elena's eyes on him, practically hear the questions in her head. "Dana was the first girl I liked after Katherine. But I couldn't control my instincts at that point. I was this bloodthirsty monster. You know, reminiscent of how Stefan was during his little episode only on a much bigger scale." He sighed. "I killed her, to sum up this pathetic sob story. That's another part of the reason why I hated Stefan so much."

Elena noticed his use of the past tense and hid a smile, proud of the progress Damon had made. But if she even tried to compliment him, he would bat it away, pretend it wasn't a big deal, and so it was better to just let him make his way in leaps and bounds.

"Are we getting out of here then?" she asked eagerly.

Walter sighed. "It won't be easy," he admitted. "Klaus has doubled the guards because of what's going down tonight. They could kill me in a heartbeat, if they suspected I was helping you, and about half of Klaus' people already do."

"Knowing my brother he's probably got some wild and crazy plan up his sleeve," Damon replied thoughtfully. "Problem is he thinks with his heart, not his head. Doesn't see the bigger picture half the time. The plan, if I know him, will involve some kind of ambush, involving Stefan risking his neck trying to find Madam over here." He nodded towards Elena.

"Well, we'll just have to combine my idea with your brother's," Walter said, grinning. "I like a challenge." He suddenly frowned. "When we get outta this mess, you're gonna have to explain how you and your brother patched things up." "No need," Damon said airily. "The reason we're on good terms is in this room, listening to our conversation as we speak." He flashed a grin at Elena. "She's…made me want to be a better person," he added, his tone one of complete irony, as he placed his hand over his heart and pretended to look emotional. "Now, thanks to her, me and Stefan are like that!" He crossed his fingers.

"That is messed up," Walter commented dryly.

"Why are you helping us?" Elena asked curiously. "It can't be just because of helping an old friend."

"Has anyone told you how unlike Katherine you are?" Walter asked seriously.

"Not really," Elena said wryly. "I've been getting the opposite."

"I've been watching Mystic Falls for a while," Walter explained. "Mostly keeping an eye on the place for Damon, who, back in the days when he was actually a fun vampire to be with instead of an emotional wreck." He grinned to show he was joking. "I saw you and, straight away, thought you were Katherine. That's, er, how Damon ended up in Mystic Falls. Sorry for any damage he caused."

"I caused a lot of damage," Damon stage whispered, much to Elena's chagrin.

"But the more I watched you, the more I learned you were nothing like Katherine," Walter continued. "You were human, for starters. And you were clearly grieving, which sort of clinched it for me. Katherine may be a good actress but not that good. I want to help because I can. Isn't that a good justification? Oh, and also because I'm one of the nine percent of vampires who actually just wishes Klaus would just walk off the face and the earth and get hit by a meteorite."

"I dunno about the first, but the second one sounds like a good justification to me," Damon said, and Elena readily agreed. "So, at the risk of sounding like one of those characters no one really cares about in those cliché action films…what now?"

* * *

After confirmation from Bonnie, they had all set out towards their destination, which happened to be one of the oldest buildings in Mystic Falls, hence Klaus' attraction for holding the ritual there. Isobel had dropped off the Gilbert device, mysteriously vanishing afterwards with only the vague excuse that she had something else to do.

Now, they were standing half a mile or so away from the building, terror and anticipation weighing heavily on their hearts. This was it. This was D-Day. They could derive some comfort, however small it might've been, that if they failed, and Elena died, well, they'd die alongside her, and the pain of her loss would barely touch them.

"So, this is it," Jeremy commented, shivering as a particularly cold wind swept ruthlessly past.

"Guess so," Stefan remarked, staring ahead and feeling nauseous.

How did it even get to this point? Klaus made Damon's first appearance to Mystic Falls look like a visit from the Tooth Fairy.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Bonnie muttered, looking and feeling anxious. "I mean, it's quiet. Too quiet. You would've thought someone would've heard us by now."

"They're probably busy with the ritual," Alaric said, trying to comfort her but the thought visibly repulsed her.

Jeremy turned to Bonnie, worry on his face.

"I don't wanna leave you here alone, unprotected," he said softly. "I don't like it at all."

"I can protect myself," Bonnie replied, with an affectionate grin. "I might not be Emily, but I've learned a thing or two since I first learned I was a witch. It's safer for me to be back here, anyway. But, you know, I'm not that vulnerable little girl anymore, Jer. The one who you watched grow up alongside your sister."

"I know…" Jeremy shuffled awkwardly on the spot. "But I still see her all the same."

It was weird not having Damon there to interrupt their moment with some vastly inappropriate comment, and the thought made them sober up at once and concentrate on the task - well, mission - ahead.

"Remember guys, try not to make any sounds unless you have to," she said, her eyes on each one of them as though trying to imprint their faces into her mind. "We don't want them alerted to the fact they have intruders a moment before we have to."

She stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on Jeremy's cheek, as his arms curled around her. They held each for a moment, ignoring the fact that the moon was slowly creeping up past the trees and into the sky, and then slowly released each other.

She hesitated and then made her way over to Stefan who was looking resolutely ahead.

"This isn't goodbye, Bonnie," he said firmly. "We're all going to get out of this alive, including Elena."

"I know, but just in case…"

"No." Stefan was adamant. "Damn it, I won't say goodbye, Bonnie. If we go down, we go down fighting. None of this mushy talk."

Bonnie grinned weakly, although tears were gushing down her cheeks, lit up by the faint moonlight.

"You're dangerously close to sounding like Damon," she said, laughing weakly. "Alright then. No mushy talk."

She grinned and he grinned back.

"Remember those simpler days when the only problems we had could be sorted by dinner and talking about Salem witches?" he reminisced.

"Yes, and when Damon was only Caroline's asshole boyfriend and not this dangerously psychotic lunatic," Bonnie returned. Her smile faded. "Although, I have to admit he's been good recently. When I say good…"

"I'll look forward to telling him about your reformed opinion," Stefan said, smiling.

"Let's go already," Jeremy said impatiently, avoiding looking at Bonnie although that was harder than he thought it would be.

Alaric started to walk, already feeling awkward by the amount of emotions there were in the air. Stefan soon followed, which left Jeremy and Bonnie in the clearing alone.

"If we get out of this," Jeremy began, looking fiercely at Bonnie. "We're gonna do this," he gestured to the two of them, "properly. I'm gonna ask you out, you're gonna say yes, and we'll have dinner. No interruptions. Deal?"

He extended a hand, and Bonnie laughed.

"Deal," she agreed, reaching out and taking it.

They let their hands linger there for a moment, a thousand words dancing in the pits of their eyes, and then, reluctantly, they broke contact, Jeremy's eyes never quite leaving hers as he disappeared out of sight.

* * *

**A/n: Ok, I lied. This isn't quite the showdown. But I didn't want to rush the whole thing, because I've read too many stories where they reach this point and then rush it so that it completely ruins the drama of it all, so this is another 'filler' chapter. Sorry. But it includes Delena! How can you reprimand me for that? Is it just me or did that Delena conversation NEED to happen? As far as she's concerned, Damon overreacted to being told she loved Stefan, which he already knew anyway. If she'd known about Katherine's visit maybe she would've been more lenient…Rant over lol. Also included Stefan/Bonnie for anyone in the small minority who might ship them. And then there's Bonnie/Jeremy fluff for those who, like me, adore them. Ok, next chapter is the showdown, ok? :P Promise!**


	15. Showdown

_Chapter 15: Showdown_

_Some are born to sweet delight  
Some are born to endless night_

Auguries of Innocence – William Blake

* * *

"Is that the place?" Jeremy murmured to a restless Stefan.

Peering through the bushes, they spotted a building – bigger than a house, but with less grandeur than a hotel – with a traditional flair to it. Tucked away from the main town, it was plain to see why it was an idea place to host a creepy supernatural ritual. Some of the windows had been boarded, although from a distance it looked quite inviting, like one of those timely buildings held fondly in between the pages of an estate magazine.

"Yes." Stefan kept his eyes peeled. "I can't see a single guard, though…"

"Oh, they'll be around," Alaric muttered beside him. "Just because we can't see any doesn't mean they aren't there."

They started to move towards it, their hearts in their mouths. A million different things could go wrong with this plan. There was not a single part of the plan which was completely fool proof. Knowing what the stakes were if they failed didn't exactly help with the pressure that was constantly mounting on them.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made Stefan jump with alarm, even though he should've been attuned to every single sound around him. He whirled around and saw a familiar face. A familiar face which, by all rights, shouldn't have been in Mystic Falls, not after all the damage he'd done.

"John," he said, through gritted teeth.

"John?" Jeremy repeated, looking alarmed and not a little bit angry. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Stopping you all from taking part in this ridiculous charade of a plan," John said, eyeing them all with undisguised disdain. "I know my timing could not be worse but I'm here to help."

"Help?" Stefan asked warily, as if the concept was foreign to him.

"Yeah." John looked at the device in Stefan's hand. "May I?"

Stefan realized arguing was pointless and time consuming, even though what he felt inside was mirrored perfectly by the expressions on Jeremy and Alaric's faces. With gritted teeth, he handed the device over, his hand lingering above John's as if reminding him he could snap his neck in a heartbeat and the conversation would be over.

"This device only works once and it's already been used," John remarked calmly. "Stage one, therefore, would've been utterly useless. We're talking about an invention from the nineteenth century so how you didn't question its condition is beyond me. Secondly, your witches' plan to incinerate the vampires would have been utterly folly. It would've killed some of them, but not all. I have in my possession the only thing which can kill an Original."

He reached into his bag and retrieved a long, silver dagger and a small pot of an unidentifiable substance, although Stefan thought it looked like ash.

"What is that?" Jeremy asked suspiciously.

"The ash from a tree that dates back to the Originals," John replied promptly. "It's the only thing that I'm aware of which can kill an Original. You have to dip a dagger into the ash and plunge it into the heart of an Original. You try anything else all you're going to achieve is the end of your life."

He allowed them to absorb that for a moment, the faint smug look on his face silently infuriating them all.

"Isobel knew this, didn't she?" Stefan croaked, after realizing something. "She had no intention of helping. She was just going to let us stroll in to our deaths."

"Yes and no," John replied, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "She was going to let _you_ stroll into your death. She had no idea Alaric and Jeremy's role extended this far or she would've stopped the whole thing. She puts on a good show but she does care about some humans, even if she doesn't show it. Whilst you were ambushing Klaus and the Originals, she wanted me to go in and rescue Elena."

"Why's she getting you to her dirty work for her?" Stefan asked slowly, wanting to ask so many other obvious questions his mind was reeling from. "What hold does she have on you?"

"No hold," John snapped. "But we have a duty, as Elena's parents, to keep her safe. We put her in the care of Miranda and Grayson because they were about the most normal people you could find. Even with the Gilbert history, we were sure that Elena would never find out about vampires and, if she did, she wouldn't think anything of them other than a curious, but fictional, myth. I may not be dad of the year but I made sure I was a part of her life, even if it was only as the obnoxious, hated uncle."

"So, what was Isobel going to do in all of this?" Alaric asked, his voice shaking with undisguised fury.

"She was going to kill Klaus," John explained. "She had a more…creative idea for his death but I put my foot down. I'm here to help _you_ for Elena. I'm saving all of you because I know it would hurt Elena if she survived and you didn't. Call it a desperate man's act for redemption, if you like, although Elena's made it pretty clear she wants nothing to do with me."

There was an edge of raw pain in his voice and they felt like, for the first time, they were seeing the real John Gilbert. There was none of this pretentious crap, none of that _I don't give a damn_ façade he constantly put on. Tonight, they could fully appreciate he was Elena's father.

"Why are you helping us?" Stefan asked quietly. "Why are you helping me when you couldn't give a damn about me?"

"No matter what you are, Stefan, you clearly care for Elena and want her to be safe," John replied. "Based on that fact alone, it seems we're on the same side. Believe it or not, all I've wanted is for Elena to have a safe, normal life. That's clearly not going to happen so I'll settle for her being safe."

"So, what do _you _suggest we do next?" Jeremy asked, clearly impatient to get going.

John smiled grimly.

"What the Gilberts do best: hunt and slay some vampire scum."

* * *

"There's no way I'm agreeing to that," Damon hissed angrily.

"Do you see any other option?" Walter argued fiercely. "I've fought in _six_ wars in my lifetime, two of which weren't even America's problem to begin with! If there's one thing I know it's _strategy._ I can get you out and you can help your friends, which will increase the odds slightly of you actually getting her back." He nodded towards Elena. "Think about it. Klaus is not going to miss his vampire sacrifice. Not when he has plenty more at hand. But the doppelganger? You can bet your ass he's doubled the guards – tripled, maybe – around here. Half the dumbasses around here ain't seen you before, so I can smuggle you out."

"What am I, a vampire or a piece of cargo?"

"Point is," Walter said, ignoring the comment, "you're easier to rescue than her. The ritual is about to start. What the hell can you do here that won't get you killed?"

Damon struggled for words. The prospect of leaving Elena wasn't one he'd consider under these circumstances but he had to admit he'd have a better chance at killing that pompous ass from the outside. If he even so much as raised a fist, he'd be taken down and killed without at least taking someone down with him, and where was the fun in that?

"Fine," he said, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "What are you going to do?"

"What do ya think?" smiled the veteran. "I'm gonna buy you time."

Damon looked at him, his expression becoming haunted as he realized this was going to be the last time he saw his friend again. He wasn't stupid; he could read between the lines of his friend's offer. He bit back a wave of unwanted emotion as he met Elena's quiet eyes. He couldn't break down in front of her. Not now. Instead, he went for the gruff handshake, strongly resisting the urge to hug the brave – but stupid – fool.

"Thanks, Walter," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "It's been an honour."

"Quoting military phrases at me? Shame on you," Walter replied with a grin. "Both ends of this corridor are heavily guarded. If you turn left and head out those doors, you'll be able to take down the guards. Practically kids, the guards are. Easy as pie to incapacitate, if you get my drift."

Damon nodded, his eyes returning to Elena.

"This is not goodbye," he said fiercely.

"I know," she said quietly, feeling a swell of overwhelming affection for the vampire.

"I'll be back," he added. "So…try not to do anything stupid."

"Like what?" she demanded.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something," Damon replied sternly. "If it seems like something I, or indeed my brother, would argue against, all I ask is that you put that insane idea out of your mind and focus on _surviving._"

With a quick flurry, he pressed his lips against her forehead and then disappeared, wishing he could shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to her. He blamed Stefan for this dark cloud of negativity which was hovering around him and then shook himself into focus, realizing now was not the time for being distracted.

"You realize I'm gonna have to take you," Walter told Elena. "In order for this to work, we're gonna have to stick to Klaus' routine as close as possible."

"I know," Elena said quickly. Then, after a pause, she asked, "If, by some miracle, we manage to escape and stop the sacrifice, what'll Klaus do?"

"He'll be vengeful," Walter said, after a moment's consideration. "He was furious when Katherine turned, or so the stories go. From what I've picked up on Klaus over the years, he never was big on punishing the actual people who infuriated him. He went for their loved ones…" He stopped, noticing how white Elena had gone. "I shouldn't have said that," he said, abashed. "Forget I said that…"

"They're not going to be able to kill Klaus," Elena whispered, her face ashen. "And if they rescue me, they're going to die. All my family, all my friends, are going to die because of me."

But she didn't burst into tears. Instead, a resolute look emerged on her face which would definitely fall under Damon's category of Doing Something Stupid. But, if it saved her family and friends, it would be worth it.

"What are you planning?" Walter asked quietly.

No answer. Just stubborn silence.

"I wouldn't," Walter warned. "Your friends are risking their lives to save you. Bursting in and finding you uncooperative is basically slapping them in their face."

Elena rose to her feet, the resolute look never fading. To anyone who knew her well, that look signalled the fact she had a plan she was sticking to, no matter what. She was sick of everyone helping her when she couldn't return the favour. Now, she was going to end this madness once and for all, although she could imagine Damon's look of mingled horror and disgust at the idea of her giving up.

She'd given up trying to figure out why Damon came to mind more often than Stefan.

"Let's not keep Klaus waiting," she said, her voice devoid of all emotion.

Walter grabbed her arm, a look of concern on his face.

"You don't think I recognize a look of defeat when I see one?" he asked darkly. "You do anything stupid and regardless of what Klaus will do to me, I'll knock you out faster than you can blink and deliver you to your friends." He sighed, noticing how emotionless her eyes were, as if she was exhausted from carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. "Damon – my friend – cares about you a lot. Hell, if I were a betting man, I'd say he loves you."

Finally, a flicker of emotion – a cross between uncertainty and disbelief – registered across her face.

"I've seen a lot of terrible things over my life," Walter continued, aware she was finally starting to listen. "But there's nothing worse than seeing someone giving up when they have so much to live for."

"You're giving up," Elena pointed out.

"No. I'm fighting," Walter said. "There's a difference between sacrificing yourself because you don't have any other visible option, and sacrificing yourself for something a lot bigger than yourself. Don't kid yourself that you're doing the latter. You're giving up. You might have noble intentions but not enough to see maybe the best thing you can do for your loved ones is _fight._"

Her head lowered a little bit. She could see the truth in what he was saying, but how could she fight when fighting only increased the odds of someone she loved getting hurt?

* * *

Outside, there was an unsettling silence which seemed to unnerve the guards who were on duty. They were a century old, if that, recruited by Klaus simply for the sake of recruiting.

"I don't like this silence," one of the vampires remarked. "We're supposed to watch out for intruders who might try and seize the doppelganger. So far, we've not seen a damn trace of an attack."

"This is why we're not in there where the action is," his companion growled. "Because when you open your mouth, stupid questions come out. Just because we can't see 'em doesn't mean they aren't there."

He fidgeted restlessly on the spot, switching focus from one leg to the other.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," a smooth voice said. "I need some help."

They whirled around, eager for a distraction, and let out an inaudible gasp as two hands immediately plunged into their bodies and plucked out their hearts. Unable to make a sound, they fell to their knees and then dropped down dead, a pool of blood soaking out from underneath their corpses.

"That is such a neat trick," Damon muttered, smirking.

With some effort, he started to pull the bodies out of sight, pleased that stage one of the plan had gone off without a hitch. The sight of the moon in the sky, however, was unsettling and, without hesitation, he hid the bodies in the bushes and set off in search of Stefan.

He was slick and he was fast, two qualities he prided himself on possessing and which quickly came in handy during the next few minutes.

"Hey!"

An angry voice had him whirling around and he narrowly missed one of Alaric's wooden stakes. He caught it in his hand, raising an eyebrow as Alaric himself hurtled towards him, not realizing who it was until he was inches away.

"Damon?" he questioned.

"That's me," Damon replied smoothly. "Good thing I have such quick reflexes otherwise I wouldn't have been alive to tell you what a complete and utter _idiot_ you are! How could you nearly kill me? After all we've been through?"

"Stop being melodramatic," Alaric said, rolling his eyes. "You all look the same in the dark."

"Remind me not to rely on you as my backup in the future," Damon muttered. Then, his face cleared. "Other than that, it's good to see you."

"Yeah…We really don't have time for awkward male bonding, Damon."

"Right."

"Yeah…" Alaric frowned. "How did you escape? Where's Elena?"

"Long story," Damon said shortly. "No time to tell it. Where's Stefan?"

"He's around the back with John and Jeremy."

Damon narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious.

"John _who?_"

It wasn't exactly the most reassuring of signs to see that Alaric clearly looked uncomfortable and was awkwardly fidgeting on the spot, like some nervous teenage girl about to confess to her very strict Catholic parents that she was pregnant.

"John Gilbert," Alaric said, sighing heavily. "We didn't invite him along, Damon, but he found us all the same."

"The same John Gilbert who tried to barbeque me? The same John Gilbert who everyone in Mystic Falls thinks is an ass? _That_ John Gilbert?" He laughed humourlessly. "No, it can't be. Even _you_ wouldn't be that stupid to actually listen to him. Not after he offered the town up as _bait_, nearly fried me to bits, and hurt Elena with his pretentious crap!"

"He can help," Alaric said patiently. "And he's given us the only weapon which can kill the Originals. Apparently traditional methods don't work."

"Really?" Damon looked intrigued. "Have you tried it out then?"

"No…"

"No?" Damon repeated flatly. "So you're taking the word of John Gilbert, of all people? Nice to see I've taught you all well." He sighed. "Well, I guess I could look on the bright side. I get to kill some annoying, older vampires _and_ John into the bargain." He saw Alaric's glance and snorted. "What? You think I'm actually gonna let him live after what he nearly did to me? What he nearly did to Elena? Dude, you have clearly not been paying attention…"

There was a sudden noise and they turned, alarmed to discover five vampires hurtling towards them. Damon lunged and managed to dislocate the shoulder of one, which preoccupied them long enough for him to get a better hold so he could rip his heart out.

Alaric was firing bullets here, there and everywhere, which worked, for a time, until they both realized these vampires had been ingesting vervain due to the fact the vervain bullets weren't as effective as they hoped. So, with teamwork, they came up with a system where Damon would rip back the arms of a vampire, whilst Alaric staked him, which is how they learned that not every vampire in there was an Original. It was oddly comforting knowing some of them could be taken down, if not all.

As the last one fell, an eerie silence fell across the clearing, broken only by a series of loud growls coming from within the building.

"I take it they found another werewolf," Damon muttered.

"Must have done," Alaric panted, ashen.

"The moon is almost up," Damon noted quietly. "Come on. We haven't got anymore time to lose. Klaus will notice their disappearance, if he hasn't done already."

* * *

Elena felt all eyes on her as they entered the chamber. Some of the vampires leered at her, clearly unable to tell the difference between her and Katherine. Others looked almost intimidated by her, and she knew every movement she made would remind them of her. It didn't matter that she shared no qualities with Katherine. All that mattered was that they knew she was here to die.

There was a platform in the centre of the room, its purpose as clear as it was terrifying. Chained next to it was a woman, whose face remained impassive as she glanced scornfully around the room. She had auburn curls and was pretty attractive, even though a scowl distorted her features when her eyes crossed over to Elena's. What was even more startling was that she appeared to be in the process of transforming, her human features distorting and fading at various points.

"The guest of honour has arrived," Klaus drawled lazily, a flash of triumph in his eyes.

He walked over to her, grabbed her arm none too gently, and pulled her over to the platform, forcing her, again none too gently, to sit. As if doing a magician's trick, he pulled a rope from thin air and tied it around her, brushing her hair back with a surprising amount of tenderness, before drawing back and gazing at her like you would at an important, world class piece of art or architecture.

"Who's she?" she ventured to ask, gesturing bravely towards the woman.

"This is our werewolf," Klaus explained, his eyes never leaving her. "I was lucky enough to catch this one coming into town. It's Jules isn't it?"

"Bite me," the woman snapped, panting wildly, clearly about to transform.

"No thank you," Klaus replied politely. "I hear you have to have a particularly acquired taste for dogs and, frankly, I'm just not sure I do."

A quiet snigger went around the group, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow even though she didn't dignify the insult with a comment. Instead, she went back to staring at Elena, which was what the entire room was doing anyway.

"The full moon is almost in place," Klaus said quietly, gazing out of the window. He turned to Jules. "Your transformation is nearly complete," he noted. "It gets easier the more times you transform, so I hear, until you get to the point where you can actively control the transformation. I wouldn't try anything funny, though. I've had the chains lightly rubbed with wolfsbane."

Jules glared at him, pain clearly etched across her face but the threat had obviously been detected earlier as she didn't seem to be struggling. She couldn't help letting loose a few growls and snarls which seemed to unsettle most of the room.

Ignoring Jules, Klaus turned to address the room.

"The actual sacrifices will occur outside," he explained. "The entire ritual works rather in the opposite way you'd expect. In order to break the curse in the moonstone, it must be made stronger, hence the moonlight. The curse was bound by Petrova blood and it will be broken by Petrova blood."

Elena felt her body start to shake. She looked for Walter for support but he was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked suddenly, noticing some of the vampires in the crowd had collapsed.

Irena, who'd been lurking in the shadows, stepped forwards and looked strangely troubled. Silence had fallen amongst the group so that you could only hear Irena's heels against the ground.

"They're dead," she reported, turning one of them over, looking faintly revolted. "Their hearts have been ripped out."

"Well, that's unfortun – " Klaus began, before a convulsive shudder reached his ears, as another three or four vampires began to collapse.

Elena, who'd been searching for Walter, noticed a quiet blurry shadow working amongst the group, taking out a few vampires at a time. Hiding a smile, she stood there, putting on her best confused expression. It didn't really matter, because Klaus was growing puzzled by the fact his vampires were dropping like flies.

"What the devil?" he growled, stepping forward, his grip on Elena loosening as he moved to investigate.

There was a loud scuffle and suddenly Walter was caught, his arms pushed to his side as he was shoved forwards. With a wild snarl, he kicked out, causing his captors to wince, and then single-handedly lopped their heads off, in a move which had Elena gasping with genuine terror. Most of the surrounding vampires seemed too wary and scared to approach him, but a couple of Originals strode forwards, their faces expressionless as if they were bored by a rebellious vampire not challenged, and disappeared in a blur, seizing hold of Walter in a flash, although he continued to struggle.

As Walter successfully distracted everyone – including Klaus – someone reached out from the shadows and grabbed her, pulling her back and covering her mouth with their hand. She was pulled on someone's back and then everything disappeared in a wild blur which meant, as a result, she was dizzy and nauseous when she found herself outside again.

"What the - ?" she gasped out.

"I'll admit that the Twilight flick got that bit right," said a familiarly cocky voice. "It isn't the best sensation for a human to go at that type of speed. I'll give you a few minutes to recover."

She never got a few minutes. Something slammed hard into hard, knocking her to the ground. Already dizzy, it took her eyes a few moments to focus, as two dark blurs started fighting before her.

"If you want your boyfriend to live," a soft voice hissed in her ear, "then get up and come with me."

She saw another vampire lunge at Damon, who dodged the attack skilfully, just as another one came at him from behind. She bit back a scream and rose to her feet, looking up at the sky as the moon hovered into view.

"Nearly time," Klaus' silky voice murmured in her ear. "Remember…try to escape and your loved ones suffer. This is strike two."

Feeling breathless, Elena made to comply, when something flew in Klaus' direction which smothered her vision. He let out a bellow as something exploded in his face, which gave her ample time to run the other way. Someone, she didn't know who, hoisted her up in his arms and fled away from the scene. She snuggled her head against soft fabric, realizing it was Stefan who was in the process of rescuing her.

For the moment, she ignored the screaming half of her heart which begged different arms to take her away and just locked away her desires just to feel, for one moment, secure and safe. She'd missed that, more than anything else.

"Elena…" Stefan dropped her to the ground, looking immediately concerned.

"Stefan…I've gotta go back," she said, moving past him.

He grabbed hold of her.

"What?" he demanded. "Are you crazy?"

"No. For the first time in my life, I'm making sense!" she yelled, looking frustrated. "You are all going to die unless _I_ do, so…move Stefan."

"No."

"Move!"

She tried to push him away but, naturally, he was stronger. He wrapped his hands are her wrists, so that she couldn't move either way.

"STEFAN!" she yelled, tears coming to her eyes. "Damon is outnumbered! He's going to die because of me! I can't – I can't let that happen! Because…because…"

"Because you love him?" Stefan guessed.

"What?" She blinked rapidly, not expecting that at all. "Stefan, what are you _talking_ about?"

"You love him, Elena. I've been trying to pretend for a while that it wasn't blatantly obvious you loved him but…I know."

"But I don't…" Elena sounded confused. "I would know if I loved him. And besides I love _you_. How can I love Damon as well?"

"I think…" Stefan said slowly. "I think you don't know what to believe. You don't know your own heart as well as you did and you're confused because you think you can't love two people at the same time. It's more than possible, Elena."

"You think now's the best time for this talk?" she gasped. "We need to be running…somewhere! Anywhere! Well, _you_ should…I need to go back…"

"Not unless you give me a good reason to go back," Stefan said firmly, secretly waiting for affirmation of what he already knew.

"Your brother is out there!" she yelled, looking slightly hysterical.

"And? He can handle himself," Stefan said, not unkindly. "The main thing is that you're safe. We should be focusing on getting you out of here, away from this nightmare…"

She faltered, momentarily flustered.

"He's your _brother._ How can you be so blasé about his fate?"

"How can you not be?" Stefan shot back. "Why is Damon the first one you're concerned about when you know he'll be alright?"

"Because I love him!" Elena snapped. "Are you happy? I said it."

He smiled sadly at her, which made her feel, if possible, even worse for confessing what she should've known all along.

"But that doesn't mean anything's gonna happen," she felt the need to add. "I mean, I love _you,_ Stefan. You said it yourself that a person can love two people at the same time, right?"

"Yeah…" He held her tight, just relishing her in his arms. "I know whatever happens, Elena, I'll be here for you. That will never change no matter what else does."

She leaned back to smile at him but was alarmed to see his face was changing. His lips curled back into a snarl; his eyes were wide and filled with hunger; every vein along and up his face bulged menacingly.

"Stefan…" she breathed, stepping back. "I know what's happening…It's not you, so fight it!"

"I – I'm trying," he replied, clearly struggling.

She stepped back in alarm as he moved closer, his willpower clearly losing against his nature. His teeth were now on display and he suddenly grabbed her, letting loose a feral snarl which made every hair on her body stand on edge.

"Stefan," she pleaded. "Remember who you are."

But it seemed he was beyond listening. He pinned her against the tree and attacked her, his teeth skimming the surface of her skin before something threw him off her. Shaken to the core, Elena tried to run but a familiarly cold hand fell on her shoulder, gripping her tightly so that she couldn't escape.

"It's interesting how your boyfriend couldn't resist you and his brother could," Klaus remarked beside her, as if he found all of this fascinating. "I think that says a lot in itself."

"Don't torture them," Elena snarled, finding courage from watching Stefan clearly battling against his very nature. "You've got me, okay? You win. Just don't hurt my friends."

"Elena…no…" Stefan croaked, finally himself again, a tortured look on his face.

She ignored him, suddenly feeling something trickle down her neck. It was a thin trickle of blood. She should've felt something – anything – that Stefan had drawn blood from her forcefully but she couldn't. It wasn't just the fact that he'd been coerced into attacking, but because of a certain resignation she had that one day he wouldn't be able to control himself around her. For all Damon's cockiness and arrogance when it came to Stefan's lack of control around blood, the elder Salvatore brother did have a point and, she had to admit, he possessed far more control.

"Funnily enough, I have trouble believing you." Klaus' lips curled into a sneer. "So, to make sure you behave, I've brought along a little bit of insurance."

With a mixture of resignation and horror, Elena watched as Jeremy and Bonnie were pushed into the clearing, both of them wearing matching cuts across their faces. Letting out a soft moan, Elena sunk to her knees, the fight completely drained out of her.

"Elena!" Jeremy called, having spotted her. "Don't worry about us! You keep fighting, you hear! Keep fighting!"

"How noble," Klaus sneered, motioning towards the vampire who was in control of Jeremy.

The vampire nodded back, put his hands around Jeremy's neck and, with a swift movement, snapped it.

"No…" Elena breathed, tears filling her eyes. "JEREMY! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bonnie was too stunned to speak, but her expression said it all. Tears gushed down her cheeks, followed by the occasional loud, hysterical sob.

"JEREMY!" Elena continued to yell, trying – and failing – to push past Klaus to get to her brother. "JEREMY! PLEASE! I CAN'T LOSE HIM! I CAN'T LOSE HIM!"

And she completely broke down, emotionally drained from everything. Part of her just wanted to die now and just not have this pain inside her anymore. She wished she could just shut it all off…like a vampire.

She stared tearfully at her brother's body, his fists loosely clenched, and the hysterical sobs started to rise up in her chest.

Unless it was tucked out of sight, there was no discernible sign of his ring anywhere on his hands.

* * *

**A/n: EEK! WHAT HAVE I DONE? This chapter was really fun to write, a bit emotional as well. All I can say at this point is don't rule anything out. I'm not stupid and putting the entire showdown in one chapter. That's just asking for my story to be flamed lol :P But certain consequences will arise from this night so look forward to the next few chapters when all will be clear. I'm still trying to figure out how they'll take out Klaus but I'll let you know as soon as I do! Thank you for the fantastic reviews! They give me happiness! **


	16. The Heart of the Matter

_Chapter 16: The Heart of the Matter_

* * *

"Jeremy..," a broken Elena moaned, scouring for any signs that his ring was still on his hand somewhere.

He couldn't be gone. It just wasn't possible. Jeremy had always been this constant presence in her life, the one person in the world she had been entrusted to look after and now he was dead. She remembered gazing into his crib a few weeks after he'd been born and, taking her by surprise, he'd reached out and grabbed her finger. And she'd promised herself there and then she'd always look after him.

"Come on…" Klaus was impatient to move. "Unless you want Mystic Falls to rain blood, I suggest you come with me if you're still intent on preserving the lives of whatever family you have left."

Something snapped in Elena right there and then. Hatred gushed through her veins so intense it almost completely regenerated her. She felt her entire body shaking with fury and, with a surge of strength, she threw Klaus' hand from her shoulder and grabbed a knife that was hanging from his belt. Just as quickly, she plunged the knife into her stomach, a small, determined smile lingering on her lips.

"What the…?" Klaus snarled. _"What are you doing?"_

"Elena!" Bonnie shrieked, her eyes wide and frightened.

"This is for all the crap you've put me and my loved ones through this year," Elena snarled, raising the knife again, a little higher this time, with the abundantly clear intention of striking herself again. "Good luck finding another doppelganger…"

"No!"

Someone's hand grabbed hers before she could make the fatal plunge into her own heart, the knife flying out of her hands. Expecting Klaus, she turned her head to let a stream of curses fly at her. Instead, an enraged Damon was staring at her, words, for once, failing him. Was it so inappropriate to notice how beautiful his eyes were, even though they contained nothing but anger?

Bonnie, meanwhile, had closed her eyes and was muttering something underneath her breath, tears rolling down her cheeks. Nobody seemed to have noticed that Jeremy's body had twitched ever so slightly due to the surrounding chaos that had ensued.

Klaus stepped forward, rage etched on his expression, but a blurry object came flying towards him, suitably distracting him from what everyone else was doing. Elena was trying to lecture Damon about his interruption but her wound was too distracting, too painful, and each attempt at speaking ended with a lingering whimper which seemed to dig into Damon's heart like nothing else had done up until now.

He bit his wrist and extended it. "Drink."

"No," she said defiantly.

"That wasn't a suggestion," Damon snarled, his eyes flashing with fury.

He grabbed her head, ignoring her pitiful attempts at resisting, and, in a startling echo of a past memory, forced the bleeding wrist up to her mouth, making sure a few drops slipped past her lips so that she healed properly. He was fuming at her actions. She'd always been stubborn, but suicidal? No…that wasn't the Elena he knew. Though he'd teased her and mocked her for caring too much, that was what he loved most about her. What she'd done – or tried to do – had crossed the line and he was definitely going to discuss this further when they were out of this mess.

All of a sudden, he was being yanked backwards, his entire body flying out of sight as Klaus moved in. He hoisted Elena to her feet, his faces inches away from hers, his anger apparent.

"You _stupid_ child!" he yelled. "Do you realize what you've just done?"

Elena rose to her feet and met his furious gaze with a steady one of her own.

"Yes, I do," she replied, smirking. "I've just foiled your plan. You kill me now, all that's going to happen is I'm going to come back as a vampire. And that means no more doppelgangers for you."

He struck her hard, his rage quite something to behold. His blow snapped her head to one side, a faint sound of pain escaping her lips.

"You…!" Words failed him. "There'll be plenty more full moons!"

"Yeah?" Elena tilted her head to one side, her confidence returning with her strength. "That gives my friends weeks to come rescue me and hunt me down. And something tells me your confidence has been shaken. You know that if anything happens to me, you will get ripped to shreds and shoved into the darkest pits of hell where you belong."

Klaus stared at her, a flicker of genuine fear on his face. The dark words spilling from her tongue didn't feel like words she would've said. They felt like Katherine's words, not hers. Elena also noticed the fear seemed to have gone, along with the wound, which scared her a little bit because she felt like nothing she did, or tried to do, would've been beyond her capabilities.

And in that moment, she felt more like Katherine than ever before.

There was a battle going on around them, as the remainder of Klaus' vampires spilled out to see for themselves what was going on. Alaric was shooting them down with ease, the novices clearly distinguishable by their wild, panicky eyes, as if being part of a bloodthirsty battle hadn't been something they'd signed up for. The blur, which turned out to be Stefan joining in on the action, was decapitating vampires left, right and centre, whilst Damon was locked in a dangerous battle with Irena, who, it seemed, was a formidable opponent.

Right in the middle of it all was Klaus and Elena, staring at each other, both afraid to strike, both afraid to move for fear the earth would shatter beneath their feet, and one of them would deal another fatal blow.

"Your friends are doing well," Klaus conceded. "But I have much more than vampires on my side."

"You have witches on your side," Elena replied. "I know. But I don't see them fighting your battle with you." She cocked her head to one side. "Face it, Klaus. You've not exactly organized this well."

She locked eyes with Bonnie, who, without anyone else knowing, was fighting the hardest battle of them all. She could see her friend was doing a pretty damn big spell judging by the fact she looked pale and haggard and extremely worn out, like a battery on its last legs, but she was fighting on just like the rest of them.

The momentary wandering of her gaze had cost her dear. Klaus had closed the gap between them and had broken her arm, causing her to cry out with pain. The vampire blood in her system helped her heal but she knew he wasn't unaware of that. In fact, the fact she had vampire blood in her system seemed to make him more vicious, his grip on her tight and uncomfortable.

"You Petrovas have evaded me for the last time," he snarled, grabbing her and pulling her out of the woods and in full sight of the moon. He continued to push her, ignoring her cries of pain. "Nobody outwits me."

"How dumb are you, Klaus?" a new voice sniped. "You should know by now Petrovas have got the art of outwitting you to a fine art."

Katherine stalked forwards, her presence causing Elena's jaw to drop with alarm. She was ragged, and her hair still resembled straw, but she walked with confidence, with strength, which meant she'd fed. Elena narrowed her eyes, never letting her gaze on her drop, suspecting some sort of foul play had occurred. No one would deliberately release Katherine out of her prison…would they?

"Katerina," Klaus spat with obvious disdain. "So nice of you to join us."

"Not a problem," Katherine said, grinning, although a flicker of fear rested in her eyes. "It's thanks to an old friend I'm here, in case you're wondering. I heard you were in Mystic Falls and couldn't _resist_ paying you a visit. Elijah says hey, by the way." She smirked. "It's a shame he can't join us."

There was a gleeful look in her eyes, which instantly made Elena wary. Nothing that made Katherine gleeful could've been good news, although if it was concerning Elijah, she wasn't too fussed.

"Elijah?" she asked suspiciously. "What did you do?"

Katherine's arrogant eyes found Elena's and, although there was no love lost between them, her usual look of disdain and loathing seemed to be absent from her face. She seemed to look, if anything, thoughtful as she regarded her doppelganger. They shared the same sort of expression, which made the idea of her and Katherine being alike sink in even further.

"John Gilbert is far more cunning than I ever gave him credit for," she said, twirling her hair around her finger coyly. "Elijah came to see me, you know. He gloated about my…situation, but failed to realize not only was the spell broken, but his gloating gave John enough time to free me and push him back inside in time for the spell to be restored. Elijah is essentially me five minutes ago." She gave Elena a flash of a smirk. "Thanks to the efforts of your witch, I might add."

"No, she wouldn't." Elena shook her head. "Why would she want you out? It doesn't make any sense."

"When there's a war on, choice is sacrificed in favour of necessity," Katherine drawled, her eyes still on Klaus. "You need me, Elena. Bonnie saw that, hell, even _Damon_ saw that."

"Damon?"

"Yes, didn't he tell you about our little meeting?" Katherine smirked. "Gotta say, I love this new, fiercer, sexier Damon a whole lot more than the Damon who was obsessed with me. He's so…sexy."

"Bonnie freed you?" Elena tried to fight back a wave of surprising jealousy. "No – It took the combined efforts of her and her grandmother to pull the spell off the _first_ time. She couldn't have managed to release the spell all by herself."

"I may have had something to do with it," an unfamiliar voice added.

A dark skinned boy walked into the clearing, his face solemn as he regarded the strange group which had gathered there away from the fight. Elena vaguely recalled seeing him town but couldn't honestly say she knew who he was. He looked about her age, yet there was a certain wisdom about him, as though everything he'd experienced up until this point had matured him, aged him even.

"Luka," Klaus snarled. "Where's your father?"

"Away from here," Luka said calmly, pausing only to scrutinise Elena and Katherine with faint surprise. "Along with my sister. We took her back during the bloodbath." His eyes tightened fractionally. "And now we owe you nothing. We're done being your bitches."

Klaus stared at him, clearly playing with the desire to kill him.

"You try and all hell will break loose," Luka warned him, clearly able to read the murderous look in his eyes. "As I'm sure you recall, witches have a tendency to get pretty nasty when provoked."

Klaus visibly paled but quickly hid it, a single hand hovering delicately around his face as though revisiting an old nightmare. Then, as quickly as the change had come, he regained composure, gripping Elena's shoulder tightly.

"My vampires will win," he sneered. "The younger, more stupid ones will die, sure, but not my fellow Originals. They can't die as easily as you might think…"

"Not unless they have the ash of a certain type of a tree and a certain dagger," Katherine jumped in. Her coy smile widened. "I'd love you to see what a Gilbert can do when provoked. It's quite remarkable."

Her eyes flashed onto Elena's again.

"You bitch," Klaus snarled. "You escaped me once. Not again."

Katherine suddenly made him freeze as she pulled out a dagger. Stroking the hilt with a deadly kind of pleasure on her face, she sauntered towards him, her hips swaying seductively.

"Now, now," she purred. "Play nicely." Her expression hardened. "You killed my family, Klaus. Everyone that I loved. I tried to run, fend for myself, but what you did has _haunted_ my every step. As annoying as I find my doppelganger, she's outwitted you. You can't win against a Petrova doppelganger, Klaus."

He sped towards her, his eyes locked on hers. His lips curled into a smirk.

"Your family were easy to kill," he breathed. "They begged and screamed for mercy but I took enormous pleasure in making sure they suffered. I saved your mother for last. She died with the name of her precious daughter on her lips."

Katherine stiffened, her eyes flashing with pure hatred. As much as Elena hated her, she could really appreciate for the first time how alike they were. They were motivated by loss, fuelled by a strong desire for revenge, although the one difference between them – well, one amongst many – was that they had different end games in mind. Elena wanted her friends to be safe; Katherine just wanted to be free.

Klaus smirked unpleasantly, turning towards Elena, dark hatred in his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes flashed with pain and a low groan escaped his mouth.

"What the…?"

Luka stepped forward, his voice rough with emotion.

"You've put my family through hell. You didn't think once it was all over we'd let you go free?" A low growl escaped his lips. "Took me a while to master this spell, especially since the aneurism trick apparently doesn't work with you."

A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of Klaus' eyes.

"What is that?" Elena dared to ask.

"The aneurism spell makes the vessels on the brain explode," Luka said, his eyes fixed on Klaus. "This spell gives the brain numerous tumours and, unable to cope, it starts to shut itself down. Of course, your healing powers will kick in but the tumours will keep coming back." He smiled grimly. "Makes it easier for someone to finish you off, you see."

Klaus moved to lunge at Luka but couldn't move at lightning speed like he normally could. Elena threw a last look at Katherine and Luka, before using this opportunity to escape, unsure who to go to in order to spread the news that Klaus was vulnerable enough to be able to kill.

She could see Stefan through the trees, his anger at his actions proving to be useful. Damon was a little further back, although she could recognize his mop of dark hair from a mile away. Both brothers were fighting alongside each other, which should've been a good thing, but she couldn't help feeling miserable. Her eyes were drawn to Stefan, and her heart still beat weakly for him, but she knew she was falling hard for Damon, in a way which had her questioning her own sanity.

So, what could you do in that case? Follow your heart?

How could she, though, when it was pointing to both? It always pointed to both.

* * *

Jeremy felt the same shaky feeling he'd felt the last time he'd been 'killed'. His whole body felt unused and every muscle seemed to ache. He remembered hearing Elena's broken sobs, although the memory was a faded one.

He heard the gnashing of teeth and the sound of flesh being torn apart, which was how he knew he'd woken up to a bloodbath. He stirred, glancing at the ring which had, once again, saved his life. He'd switched hands which was how none of his friends had spotted it and realized he wasn't dead. Now, however, it felt more like a curse than a blessing, as though he didn't deserve all these second chances he kept being given.

"Hey, Jeremy," John greeted him, extending a hand and helping him to his feet. "That ring really has come in handy."

"Is Katherine out of the tomb?" Jeremy asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yes, she is," John replied. "It wasn't easy, but she's out."

"Where's Elena? And Bonnie?"

John looked around, his eyes tight with worry.

"I don't know. I was just in time to see Elena pull her little stunt…"

"Wait, what stunt?" Jeremy asked, his eyes alight with concern. "Is she okay?"

"Let's just say you might want to keep a close eye on your sister if we get through this madness," was John's somewhat vague reply. "Her idea of fighting is a little different from yours or mine."

Jeremy frowned, wondering what he meant by that but didn't exactly have enough time to consider it, as the fight suddenly turned towards him. A vampire lunged towards him, his eyes dark with thirst, before John, with one swift move, decapitated him. Three more took his place and Jeremy joined in, managing to locate one of Alaric's weapons in time to stake one of them through the chest.

It made him wonder why Klaus had recruited all of these incredibly vulnerable vampires who could so easily be killed, when surely it would've been better to have a smaller army of deadlier vampires who couldn't have been killed as easily.

He tried searching for Bonnie as he fought, but that turned out to be an impossible task. When he was distracted, a vampire managed to pin him down and there was a moment of desperate struggling before he managed to shove the stake through his chest, a self-satisfied look emerging as his attacker's face turned grey and hardened.

"Glad to see you're still kicking, kid," Damon said, joining him. "Though, I must say your comeback was a bit disappointing. Couldn't you have made it a bit more impressive?"

"I'll remember that next time some psychopathic vampire kills me," Jeremy said sarcastically. "It's becoming a habit, you see…"

Damon actually flashed him a genuine smile of comradeship before turning his attention back onto Irena, who was dodging his attacks with lightning speed. She flashed him a smirk before sticking a knife into his stomach, which he immediately removed.

"Now, that's not ladylike," he said reproachfully.

"What can I say?" Irena smirked. "I'm not your average lady."

She dodged his attack and grabbed his arm, twisting it sharply and laughing cruelly when his face scrunched up with pain.

"The moon's disappearing," Damon noted, through gritted teeth. "Your boss's plan is failing."

"So? He'll try again next time," Irena snarled viciously. "Klaus always has a plan, boy. You think he didn't predict something like this would happen? He has you all exactly where he wants you!"

"Some plan," Damon scoffed. "I can see it's all going swimmingly for you all."

Irena struck him so hard his head snapped to the side.

"Ouch," he said, rubbing his head like that would make a damn bit of difference. "You play rough." He smirked. "I like it."

He dodged another blow and jumped up a nearby tree, poised on one of the top branches like a cat about to strike. Then, quick as lightning, he jumped to another tree before leaping down. His stunt had distracted her for a moment, giving him enough time to sneak behind her and rip her heart out.

She gave a stuttering moan, turning around and looking murderous. But then, just like that, her face gave way to an unexpected wave of vulnerability, and her eyes seemed to widen with some kind of terror as though she was reliving something.

"E-Eve," she moaned, a tear, of all things, crawling down her cheek.

And then, just like that, her face hardened, and she died, leaving Damon with the shock realization that, despite all her boasting and smug remarks, she was no more an Original than he was. She was unmistakably an old vampire, but not an Original as he'd first thought.

And, even more surprisingly, he felt a surge of guilt for killing her, although he couldn't understand why he did.

He extended a hand and glanced at it curiously, intensely surprised that he was _feeling_ again. He felt everything. Guilt over Lexie and Vicki Donovan resurfaced – where did _that_ come from? – and he remembered seeing Elena's supposedly dead body in the morgue and a sudden rush of emotion flooded his face and, overwhelmed, he turned around, staking a lunging vampire without even thinking about it, his thoughts focused on this strange new sensation which, really, shouldn't have been that foreign to him.

He felt, dare he say it, human again.

* * *

Bonnie felt worn out by the spell she'd just done. She'd run into John earlier, who, despite his annoyingly laidback attitude, had provided her with another solution than just to perform two consecutive spells which, on their own, were pretty daunting to any witch. All she'd done was lower the spell on the tomb for a moment, just long enough for Katherine to escape and for John to push Elijah in.

She'd recover from that later, however. What she was focusing on was her grief for Jeremy. She'd been scared to admit just how much she'd liked him and now, because of her, he was gone. He should never have gotten involved. She should have put her foot down and insisted he stayed out of it. He would've listened to her, and, even if he hadn't, she could've restrained him using a spell of some sort.

"You know, you need to lie down. Doing too much magic wears you down."

Great, she was imagining his voice. She was going crazy, which was really overdue judging by the fact everything in her life right now was crazy.

"Bonnie…"

"Go away, Jeremy," she mumbled, her eyes down. "Stop haunting me."

"If I'm a ghost," his voice sounded amused, "I'm a pretty solid one at that. Bonnie, I had my ring on. I'm alive."

She raised her head and saw him standing there, the two of them there amongst, but not a part of, the fighting. He looked drained and white but, otherwise, he seemed okay.

"Jeremy…"

She ran towards him, unable to speak, unable to find a word to express her joy, her relief, that he was alive. She reached up, touched his face, then started to cry when she realized he was solid and he was real. Then, taking them both by surprise, she stood on her tiptoes and kiss his lips, the salty tears running across her lips, giving the kiss a toxic feel to it.

He responded enthusiastically, lowering his head so she didn't have to tiptoe, and pulled her towards him, deepening the kiss before letting them sink into a weary, emotional embrace.

They were pulled out of the moment by the sight of the moon disappearing behind a cloud. They watched it with a mixture of emotions. They knew Elena hadn't been sacrificed – they would've felt it if something had happened – but the sight of the moon was now an unwelcome sight. Even though it was disappearing, it seemed to be a metaphor for their very lives, it being the most common factor associated with anything supernatural.

Bonnie snuggled against Jeremy as a chilly wind gripped them. Her entire mind felt swamped with pain and exhaustion. She smiled childishly as the moon seemed to double up before her eyes. She heard echoes of her own past fill her mind, as though reminding her of what had changed.

And, without warning, her body bent gracefully back, as her eyes rolled back into her head and blood seeped from her nose.

She barely heard Jeremy crying out her name. She didn't even feel his arms catch her, nor did she feel him pull her towards him so that her head was resting against his jacket.

She just felt her magic consume her.

And she swore down she could hear the faint sounds of childish laughter echoing across the night sky like a shooting star…

* * *

Elena ran into Stefan, as it turned out, who simultaneously (with the help of Alaric) managed to decapitate three vampires. It almost scared her, how comfortable he looked with the violence.

"Stefan…" she breathed. "Are you okay?"

He looked towards her, his face instantly reflecting guilt.

"Elena…I'm so sorry," he whispered, pained. "I didn't mean to lose control like that…"

He traced the wound he'd inflicted on her and bowed his head with shame.

"It doesn't matter, Stefan," Elena whispered hurriedly. "Klaus is vulnerable. We can kill him."

She briefly filled him in on all he'd missed, his eyes widening with surprise at Katherine's involvement in the plot. He hadn't expected her to have actually stuck around. The guilt, however, never left his face, which was something she was going to have to address later on.

"I'm on it," Stefan vowed, moving to leave.

"Wait…" She breathed deeply. "You know what I said back there? It wasn't…I wasn't…"

"You meant every word, Elena," Stefan said gently. "It's an insult to us both if you said you didn't mean it." He breathed in, closing his eyes. "I can't say it's easy to hear, because it's not. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to hear in my entire life. But it's the truth, and you and I have always been honest with each other." He opened his eyes and smiled sadly at her. "We'll talk about it when…"

He suddenly grunted with pain, a large stake sticking out from just under his shoulder blade.

"STEFAN!" Elena screamed, stepping back in alarm.

It wasn't a fatal place the stake had struck, but that wasn't why she'd screamed. Klaus was standing behind him, a clear smirk on his face.

"Where's Katherine and Luka?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Unconscious," he remarked coldly. "I've learned every trick in the book. You think after everything a teenage witch is gonna stop me? No…I didn't get my reputation for being the most fearsome vampire of them all by forging friendships. I hunt, I play, I _slaughter_. That is what is _normal_ to me. That is what is normal to all vampires."

Stefan grunted his objection but collapsed as Klaus drove the stake in harder.

"Please stop," Elena sobbed, her eyes wide with panic and fear. "Leave him alone…"

"Or what?" he sniped. "You can't really negotiate anymore than you've already done. What you've done is strike three. And you're out of luck. Now I'm pissed. I'd watch your back if I were you. Turn it for just one second and you'll turn back to find your entire family dead. Don't believe me? Just ask Katerina."

He removed the stake, pausing only to hiss something in Stefan's ear.

"Your girlfriend is mine, Salvatore. I allow you to live only because you are her sole reason for living. Take you away and I might as well call off the whole damn thing. Once she's in my grasp, you'll be dead faster than you can blink." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I mean _dead_ as in six feet under _dead._"

And before they could do anything, he disappeared.

Elena stared ahead, ignoring the sounds of fighting going on around her. She felt something cold trickle down her spine. It wasn't fear, but sheer horror.

What had she _done?_

"Elena…" Stefan looked in surprise. "The vampires are retreating…"

They rose to the feet in unison, noticing how most, if not all, of the remaining vampires still fighting were retreating into the shadows, the odd one managing to get shot down and slaughtered by Alaric and Damon, who both strode right over to Elena and Stefan, confusion all over their expressions.

"What the hell happened there?" Damon asked, wincing as his flesh started to heal together the wounds inflicted.

"Klaus…" Stefan croaked, still in pain. "He's called them off."

"Why?" Alaric asked, his eyes on Elena.

"I can answer that one," Damon asked, honing his eyes on a frozen Elena. "Little Miss Action over here insisted on stealing the limelight and stabbed herself. She was going for the killer blow when I intervened and fed her my blood. Klaus knows he can't kill her tonight otherwise she'll be a vampire."

"Why would you do something like that?" Stefan asked angrily, glaring at Elena. "Why would you do something so _stupid_, huh?"

"Because I am fed up playing the role of the victim, Stefan," Elena hissed, fuming herself. "Call it the coward's way out, but it hurts me more seeing all of you risk your lives to save me than anything else Klaus has done to me. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going home…"

All of a sudden, the anger evaporated off of Stefan's face, immediately replaced by worry and concern.

"Can't go home, Elena," Damon told her.

"Why not?" she snapped at him, her eyes alight with anger.

He shuffled awkwardly on the spot, looking, for the first time, nervous. Elena felt the anger drain away. There was something they weren't telling her, something big. With Damon, it wasn't as obvious but Stefan's guilt was all over his face. Even Alaric seemed to have a shadow across his face.

"What aren't you guys telling me?" she asked desperately.

"You guys should go," Damon said, not taking his eyes off of Elena's. "Go round up Bonnie and Jeremy and John. I've got this."

"I should…" Stefan began.

"I got this, Stefan," Damon snapped, giving him a meaningful look.

The others hesitated for a moment, before nodding once and then stalking off, their eyes filled with sympathy Elena wished she could slap away.

"Damon…" Elena sighed. "What is going on?"

He grabbed her hands suddenly, looking grieved, which alarmed her even more.

"The whole of Mystic Falls thinks your dead," he said bluntly. "Vampire Barbie, Wolf boy, and Alaric, obviously, are the exceptions but everyone else…Well, they think you're dead."

He waited for the inevitable explosion but it didn't come. Elena stood there, her hair blowing carelessly in the wind, her guard completely dropped for once. Every emotion was there on her face, all her pain, all her anger, all her frustration…She was the easiest person in the world to read…yet the hardest to understand.

"So, Jenna thinks I'm dead?" she said slowly, tasting the words.

"We think Elijah did a spell which made you appear dead," he replied cautiously, waiting for her to break down.

"Well, that makes it easier, I suppose," Elena muttered.

"What?" Damon asked, his eyes narrowing. "Makes _what_ easier…?"

She didn't reply; instead, she gazed determinedly at him and gave him a weary half smile.

"Doesn't matter, Damon," she said, shaking her head. "If there's one thing I've learned out of this is that I've never had a choice about…anything. There's always someone making choices for me, or someone with another plan for me. Well, I've made a decision you're not gonna like." She inhaled deeply. "You know, we've come a long way, Damon, since we first met. I'd give anything to introduce this guy to the guy who broke into my house searching for Stefan." She smiled faintly. "I think he'd drop dead with shock."

"Don't do this, Elena, damn it!" Damon snapped, his eyes flashing with anger again.

"Do what?"

"You're saying goodbye," he accused. "I can hear it in your voice. You are so stubborn. I wish I could show _this_ girl to the girl who could make the whole room light up with just a smile. I think _she'd_ drop dead with shock."

Elena didn't say anything, but the guilt showed on her face.

"I think that girl is still in there, Elena," he continued. "She's the part of you which is fighting to speak but you're not letting her. You're giving up because you don't see any other reason to fight."

"I don't…" she said, brokenly. "Stefan and I are falling apart; Jenna thinks I'm dead; Jeremy and Bonnie…I don't know what's going on there but they're keeping secrets…" She started to cry. "I don't know what kind of world I live in anymore, Damon. It's full of secrets and lies and doppelgangers. Where is the silver lining?"

Damon tilted his head to one side, examining her. He wished he had an answer to that question. The only silver lining he could think of would probably just frighten her away. This seemed like the ideal time to tell he loved her but he couldn't. There were a million reasons for the idea but he was playing the moral card for once. She didn't need another reason to be tortured and in pain by thinking she was hurting him because she didn't love him back. Well, he wouldn't give her that pain. He'd just fight his feelings like he always did.

Except he couldn't forget the way it had felt when she'd kissed him. And he couldn't shake off the faint idea that maybe she was hiding something from him too.

"Let's go back, kiddo," he said roughly, shaking away his humanity. "We'll figure this out later."

"Figure what out?" she asked blandly. "Figure out how to kill Klaus? Or figure out what the hell there is between you and me?"

He doubled back in shock, searching her eyes for any signs she was lying. She'd just admitted there was something there, which surely should've had him reaching for the stars except he knew heartbreak was still on the cards. He had to play it slow, had to play it safe. For both their hearts' sakes.

"Both, Elena," he sighed heavily. "Always both."

* * *

**A/n: Ok, this was the hardest chapter to write. I can write love, I can write humour, but action is hard to do :P Love all the reviews! You are so amazing! Next chapter kinda incorporates a cute Damon/Bonnie scene in, which leads to a shift in their relationship (nothing major). We'll find out how Caroline and Tyler got on and we'll also know what happened to Jules, as well. There is a reason for her disappearance in this chapter which you'll find out later. Also, for all you Rose fans, she comes back next chapter! Look forward to that and more! Luka will be in recurring chapters too. I wanted to slot him in but wasn't sure where. Enjoy!**


	17. Priorites

_Chapter 17: Priorities_

* * *

Elena paced up and down the room, her heart, frankly, ready to explode. Everything about tonight, every plan they'd made, every decision they'd contemplated had been twisted and changed down to the last detail. And, even though it had saved her life, she held nothing but hatred towards the vampire blood (Damon's, to be specific) which was inside her.

Was it really selfish of her to just want this to be over?

According to her friends, yes, it was. Not necessarily because of the desire to have this whole mess ended, but because of the lengths she was willing to go to end it all. She knew they were desperate to save her life, desperate to prove to her that the fight could still go on. But tonight hadn't exactly won them any points in her favour. Bonnie was upstairs, in a comatose state as Jeremy looked on; Jenna was at Alaric's, believing her niece to be dead; Stefan and Damon were wearing themselves to the bone trying to save her life.

She sat down on the couch and flopped to the side so that her legs lay across the couch, whilst her arms and head rested on the armrest. She barely flinched as Damon entered the room, his trademark smirk barely affecting her anymore. She'd given up trying to figure out how he could remain so calm, so confident, even during dark and treacherous times.

"She's got a nasty cut on her face, and she's probably dead on her feet, but I think she's going to pull through," he announced, trying to give Elena a reassuring smile. She wasn't buying it.

"Jeremy said she stopped breathing for a moment. How is that normal?" she demanded, raising her head for a moment.

"You've got to understand that witches don't have endless supplies of energy, mores the pity," Damon said, making his way over to her. "They're only channelling magic, not creating it, which takes up a lot of energy. Bonnie's been doing a lot of magic recently, which means she has to use a lot of energy otherwise used for _surviving_ in order to cast the spells she wants to cast."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Emily told me," Damon said, with an ironic smile. "Back before I turned and when Katherine was still around. She found it…endearing that I asked so many questions." He lifted Elena's legs up so he could sit down, then lay them across his lap. "After I turned, she wasn't so friendly. She saw right through me, which was probably why she waited until _after_ I turned to tell me Katherine was still alive."

He stared ahead into space, clearly zoning out as he revisited past memories. Elena gazed at him, surprised when a flicker of guilt surfaced. It seemed like every time she spoke to him now, he was becoming that little bit more human every day. And it was making the choice between him and Stefan that much harder.

"That was an unbelievably stupid stunt you pulled tonight," he eventually said, rising to his feet, feeling a fresh surge of anger well up inside.

Elena's expression hardened; she was sick of apparently being in the wrong all the time. All she was doing was trying to protect the people she loved. How was that a crime? Okay, it might've seemed like the coward's way out but in lieu of any other option, she had to see her plan through to the end. Damon was being a stubborn jackass about this, and Stefan just seemed disappointed.

"Why?" she asked, seething with repressed anger. "Because it wasn't something _you_ planned? Because _I _made a decision for a change? Am I hitting the ballpark with any of these answers?"

"How blind are you?" Damon near enough roared, storming towards her. "It's because I _love_ you, damn it!"

That stopped her in her tracks. Elena paused, absorbing his words, putting emphasis on each one, as if hoping to find a hidden meaning which would somehow otherwise explain the irrational order of the words he'd just thrown at her. Her bottom lip trembled, and her eyes filled up, because she couldn't understand how he could be saying this to her. It had to be a joke, and a very cruel one at that.

"What…What do you mean?" she asked, her voice constricted.

"I love you, Elena," Damon said, in a gentler, less severe tone. "In reality, I'd been building up to this moment but…well, if your so-called plan comes into fruition, it would appear I'm running out of time."

Elena rose to her feet like a ghost, pushing back her hair and feeling pale faced. It all made sense now. Hadn't she once made a remark Stefan about the extraordinary lengths Damon went to for love? Well, history certainly had a habit of repeating itself, and here he was again, going to the same lengths for her. How had she not questioned his motives behind it? How had she not figured that out? How had she been so blind?

"But," he suddenly added, looking downcast. "I don't deserve you, Elena. I wish I could give you what you need. I can't. But Stefan can. Stefan told me from the start to stay away but I couldn't. Now I see why." His voice suddenly tightened. "You're this _good_, caring, kind person, Elena, who everyone loves. Hell, why do you think we're fighting for you so much? Because our lives would _suck_ without you."

"Please don't…" Elena closed her eyes.

"Don't what?" Damon stepped closer. "Don't tell you the truth? Last time I checked, you were the one preaching about honesty and all that crap. Don't tell you what I'm feeling? Again, you're the one who always nags about _opening up._" He was now only inches away from her lips. "What do you want from me, Elena, that I'm not already _doing?_"

She was hesitating; he could read it all over her face. What she was thinking about, however, was another matter entirely. He'd laid his heart on the line – for the second time – and it was like awaiting verdict in court; either, he was found guilty of having unrequited emotions (again), or he wasn't. And he was no longer sure whether or not both options would come with their complications, their baggage.

Taking them both by surprise, Elena strode up to Damon, hesitantly reached for his face and kissed his lips; softly at first, but, as the passion increased, so did the force of the kiss. He was torn between doing what was right by Stefan, and saying _screw it_ and just going with his emotions. He ended up doing the latter…and felt immensely guilty for doing so.

But it felt good breaking the rules and knowing that the consequences wouldn't be too severe. Stefan knew how he felt – hell, a day didn't go by when he didn't virtually probe him for his feelings – and knew who he was as a person. The fact that Stefan seemed to trust him around Elena constantly amazed him. If the shoe were on the other foot – and, boy, it seemed close to getting that way – he wouldn't trust Elena around _anyone._

Katherine had been a harsh lesson, a wake up call to the fact that the people you loved not only could be pretending to love you, but loving someone else on the side. With all the issues Katherine's disappearance – and subsequent reappearance – had given him, he was surprised he hadn't a complete breakdown by now which, in vampire terms, loosely meant a mass slaughter.

"Thank you being honest," she murmured against his lips.

He broke apart from her and grinned faintly.

"What, no _I love you too_?" he teased. "Shame on you…"

Her smile faded a little; whatever it is she wanted to say, he'd probably frightened her out of saying. His admission of love had removed a weight off his chest in one respect; in another, it had put another weight on because he had yet to hear her response which, if he knew her, would be a no.

She would choose Stefan because he was the safest option, the one she'd loved first, the one she would always love.

It was how he would react, he suspected, which was putting her on edge. The memories of that night in her room he could almost see floating in her eyes. A part of him felt like screaming at her _haven't I don't enough since then to earn your trust back?_ But Elena wasn't predictable. She forgave and forget in her own time. Some things she held onto for longer than others.

"Say something," he said, searching her eyes for some kind of clue.

She opened her mouth, but closed it at the sound of the door opening. Alaric and Stefan traipsed, only one of the two realizing they'd walked in on some sort of moment. No prizes for guessing who that particular person was.

"Klaus and Katherine seem to have disappeared," Stefan sighed, though his eyes remained suspicious. "Klaus obviously knows how to cover his tracks."

"Well, we're obviously not going to wait until the next full moon for him to show up again," Damon said, turning – albeit reluctantly – away from Elena. "We need to get him before he gets us. The question is _how?_"

"You could use me as bait," Elena said, only half heartedly as she knew exactly what their answer would be.

"No," the three men said as one, barely looking at her.

She threw up her hands in disgust and wandered over to the other side of the room, her mind focusing on what had just happened between her and Damon. Each time, she'd initiated the kiss and she felt rotten for doing so. It felt so wrong but so right at the same time, like playing with fire and discovering your hands weren't getting burned, merely that little bit warmer.

"Where are John and Isobel anyway?" Damon asked, a scowl surfacing. "I want them to meet a dear friend of mine. A rather _violent_ friend of mine. He's called Dagger."

"Wow, remind me not to piss you off," Alaric suddenly snapped. "When you don't get your own way, you don't turn mad like other people seem to do. You turn psychotically violent and go on a killing spree."

"How charming," Damon said, looking mock hurt. "Can we not do this now? I have things to do."

"Like what?" Stefan asked.

"Things," Damon enunciated, as though his brother was a moron.

He went out the room, not before throwing Elena a _we'll talk about this later_ look she was quickly becoming used to. Alaric said he was going to go home and see how Jenna was doing, which just left Elena and Stefan in the room alone.

"You okay?" Stefan asked, walking over to her, studying her face.

"Not really," Elena admitted. "I just have a lot to deal with, Stefan. I thought after what happened with Caroline, we'd finally have time to just be, you know, a normal couple in high school. Now things are different."

"Different as in _everything_, or different as in you and me," Stefan asked quietly, looking pained.

"Both," she replied, avoiding his eyes.

"Is it Damon?"

"Stefan…" She closed her eyes. "Please don't make this all about Damon. I'm not sure how I feel, if I'm honest. What I said in the woods…It was true, in part, I guess, but it's more complicated than that."

"Complicated how?" Stefan asked, seeming churlish somehow.

"Complicated in that I still love you," she snapped. "That'll never change, Stefan. I _love_ you. Something like that doesn't change overnight." She let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I just need time alone to figure out what I want."

"Okay." Stefan seemed happier with that answer. "I'll be here for you, no matter what you decide."

She wrapped her arms around him and nodded, feeling even more lost than before.

* * *

Damon should've felt elated at what had happened. Instead, after overhearing Elena and Stefan's conversation, he felt moodier than ever. Why was she tormenting him like this, like Katherine? Katherine had lured him with false promises, false ideas, and he'd been excited about the idea about the two of them being together forever. In the end, forever hadn't turned out to be quite as glamorous as he'd expected.

For the first time in a hundred and forty five years, someone had got his heart beating again and history seemed doomed to repeat itself.

An exhausted Jeremy suddenly walked out into the hall. Apart from severe bruising around his neck, and other cuts and scrapes, he looked alright.

"You okay, kiddo?" he asked, rather pointlessly it seemed.

"Will she wake up?" Jeremy asked, motioning to where Bonnie lay in bed.

"I'm sure of it," Damon replied wearily.

"You're not lying?"

"Honestly, I'm done with lying. So, for once, I'm telling nothing but the truth."

Jeremy snorted softly but decided not to press any further. Vaguely communicating he was going sleep, he disappeared and Damon walked in to see how Bonnie was doing, a surprising wave of affection rising up inside his chest. She might have hated him but that didn't mean he felt the same. He had huge admiration for her; it couldn't have been easy helping the people you hated day after day without wanting to explode.

Her chest rose and fell in even strokes, so he knew she would be okay. Out of curiosity, more than anything else, he closed his eyes and concentrated hard, waking to find himself in Bonnie's dream.

He saw her standing by an old well, just by the trees, her expression containing nothing but serenity. He sped over and she blinked with surprise. This was going to give her a shock when she awoke.

"Damon?" she asked, looking faintly annoyed. "Must I suffer you in my head too?"

"S'only fair, since you have that aneurism thing you love using on me," he teased, looking ahead. "So…what are we watching out for?"

"Them." Bonnie pointed ahead. "See if you recognize them."

Damon narrowed his eyes as a blonde haired girl, who could only be about eleven or twelve, stride forwards, her dialogue going at about a hundred miles an hour. That had to be Caroline. The next girl walked forwards, which he could immediately tell was a young Bonnie. That meant the third girl was…

"That's me, Caroline and Elena," Bonnie said slowly, a nostalgic smile on her face. "We always hung around together ever since I can remember."

"You dream about them?"

"Uh-huh." Bonnie nodded. "I like dreaming about a time before all this supernatural crap came into the picture. Before _boys_ came into the picture, even. This is my happy place I always come to when I need to."

"Huh…" Damon felt speechless.

She smiled at him – not sarcastically, for once.

"Yeah, this was back when we smiled more," she informed him. "Elena had the best laugh ever. It was the kind that made you laugh." Her smile faded a little. "I guess there are not a lot of reasons to laugh nowadays."

"You should try alcohol," Damon suggested. "Then, you either find everything hilarious, or everything depressing."

Bonnie actually laughed at that. He was in the middle of silently congratulating himself for actually breaking down her stone wall barriers, when he heard an even stranger sound than Bonnie's laughter.

He heard Elena swearing.

"Do my ears deceive me?" he asked, his jaw slackening. "Or is that the innocent Elena mouthing off like some sort of hooligan?"

"Before you knew her, she was quite the rebel," Bonnie said, fighting back a grin. "She was popular, had every guy foaming at the mouth, and could've gotten away with anything at school."

"What changed?" Damon asked quietly.

"Her parents died and then suddenly everyone who ever pretended to care just fell into the background. No one really wants to know you when you go through something like that."

Damon looked at her sympathetically, realizing exactly who she was thinking of, and it wasn't Elena.

"I'm really sorry, Bonnie," he said, his throat tightening again.

"For what?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.

"For what happened to your grandmother," he explained. "I was selfish. I just wanted Katherine back and didn't care what happened to anyone in the process. Tonight, I came close to losing someone forever and it…it made me think, you know?"

"A-ha…You're not, by any chance, talking about Elena, are you?"

"How did you know?" he teased.

"Lucky guess…" she replied. After a moment, she asked, "Why are you in my dream, Damon?"

He noted it was interesting she asked _why_ and not _how_, as most people would've done. Then again, Bonnie wasn't most people.

"I wanted to see if how you were," he replied. "Everybody's worried about you and I wanted to alleviate their worries."

"And…?"

"How did you know there was an 'and'?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed. "When you're a girl, you pick up on the skill of reading between the lines. Comes in quite handy, especially when you end up having a boyfriend."

He paused, digesting that for a moment.

"You know Elena pretty well right?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Bonnie was cautious. "Why?"

"I just want to know where her head is right now," he replied, feeling pained. "Whether I'm wasting my time or not…"

"You love her…" Bonnie realized. "Oh…wow."

"Of course that wow was heavily ironic," Damon said, heavily sarcastic. "Considering you hate my guts."

"I don't hate you, Damon," she corrected him. "Not anymore. Not after everything you've done for Elena. I can't hate you." She gave him an abashed look. "Considering you're the centre of most topics we talk about, I'd say there's a very good chance she feels something for you too."

"See, therein lies my problem. How much is _something?_ Can you quantify that, at all? Does she like me, love me, or just feels like we're better off being friends?"

Bonnie suddenly laughed.

"Oh my God, Damon," she exclaimed. "How human do you sound right now? It's like you're a teenager, not an arrogant, self-centred, egotistical vampire."

He smirked, but considered her answer carefully, realizing she was right. At this precise moment, he did, indeed, sound like a teenager asking his crush's friend whether or not he had any shot at dating her. He inwardly winced and tried to act like he didn't give a toss either way.

"I think…" Bonnie said slowly, keeping her eyes on the girls ahead. "I think Elena doesn't know what to think right now. I'd say her head is keeping her with Stefan, because she knows she's safe with him, and that he'll never break her heart. With you, I think she'll always have that doubt at the back of her mind. As for heart…Well only Elena can really tell you where that is."

"Right…" Damon gazed down at the ground, avoiding Bonnie's eyes. "Well, you know my story by now. You can understand why I want to know where I stand, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Bonnie stared at him, unable to hold onto the dregs of her hatred any longer. "But Damon…you do realize no matter which way she goes, the best thing you can do for her – for us all – is stand by her no matter what. I know losing you would completely destroy her and, putting aside what you are, I'd have to kill you if you hurt her like that."

Damon laughed weakly, though he knew she was being deadly serious. To be honest, this strange truce they'd forged between them wasn't something he felt entirely at ease with. But, despite everything, he'd never hated her. He saw so much of Emily in her – her growing confidence; her determination to help her friends; her strength – that sometimes it was easy to forget that they were no longer in 1864.

"I'll leave you to it." He abruptly rose to his feet. "Thanks witch."

"You're welcome…vampire," she retorted.

He smirked. "We may have to keep up appearances and pretend to go on hating each other, just so you know."

"Who's pretending?" Bonnie joked.

"Aw, come on. Despite all I've done, you know I've changed." Damon's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Yeah…but my warning still stands, you know," Bonnie said, turning serious. "You hurt anyone – especially Elena – and I'll take you down."

"You know that's the last thing I'd do," Damon replied seriously.

Bonnie nodded, but the threat was still in her eyes. She might not entirely trust him, but they'd made progress. Surely, that had to count for something? Feeling slightly better, Damon closed his eyes and re-emerged back in reality. He looked down on Bonnie, gave a half smile, and then left her to sleep off her exhaustion, whistling cheerfully to himself as his old confidence and swagger returned.

* * *

Stefan stared into the fire, his mind elsewhere. He swirled his drink around absent-mindedly, wondering how the hell they were supposed to defeat Klaus, who probably knew every trick in the book.

He barely heard Damon come in, so loud were his thoughts.

"You okay, brother?" he asked, suddenly pulling face. "Wow... I can practically smell the judgement."

Stefan turned, his eyes downcast. He was thinking about his somewhat vague conversation with Elena earlier. He knew how she felt about Damon now, which helped ease the pain on the one hand, because at least he didn't have to torture himself over the biggest question hovering over his head anymore, but it didn't make it any easier actually knowing like he thought it would.

"No judgement," he said, turning around to stare at him. "Why, have you done anything for me to be judgemental about?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Damon replied airily. "Speaking of which, have you, and your many, many frown lines, considered what our next move is? Katherine's disappeared, which means taking killing her off my itinerary. John's nowhere to be seen, which makes me feel _so_ comfortable…"

"I haven't a clue," Stefan admitted. "We need to protect Elena, but we can't keep her holed up here all day long like a prisoner."

"Oh yes we can," Damon interrupted quickly. "Especially after her little stunt tonight. In fact, I distinctly remember suggesting to her that once we got her back we'd handcuff her to the bed."

Stefan's nostrils flared, as though he'd taken offence to something Damon had said, but if he bore any objection, he didn't speak of it.

"Speaking of Elena, where is she?" Damon frowned.

"In my room," Stefan said, almost defiantly. "She was tired, so I offered her my room."

"Fair enough…" Damon said, narrowing his eyes, not liking Stefan's tone at all.

Stefan's phone suddenly rang, breaking the awkward tension between the brothers. Eager for a distraction, Stefan answered it.

"Hello?"

_"Stefan…it's me. Caroline."_

He smiled. "So I gathered. How did Tyler's transformation go? Is he alright? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

_"One question at a time, Stefan. It's excruciating to watch. I don't how he hasn't lost his mind; it looks THAT painful. I locked him in the Lockwood cellar place. I just had to call you._" Her voice broke a little bit. _"It hurts me seeing him this way, Stefan. I didn't want to leave but he just…Well, he's not himself right now."_

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

_"I've been better. I'll be okay though. When it's over, I'll take him home."_

"Good." He gave Damon a furtive glance. "Listen, things didn't go so well for us tonight. Think you can come over tomorrow?"

_"Er…yeah. I think I can get away with coming over tomorrow. Mom's out all day at work, but I'm gonna check in with Tyler before I come over. That alright?"_

"That's fine. See you then. Stay safe."

He disconnected and sighed, avoiding staring at Damon, the image of him and Elena together welded into his mind. He wished he wasn't this _person_, this jealous boyfriend figure, but he couldn't help it. Love didn't always make you rational and, right now, he could definitely describe the feelings inside him as being irrational.

"Did you feel that?" Damon suddenly asked, looking wary.

They felt something whirl past them. Stefan slowly retrieved a dagger from his pocket, as Damon stepped forward to retrieve a gun. The figure – whoever they were – was whirling around at quite a phenomenal speed, even for a vampire, and the brothers exchanged a stunned look, before determining if it was someone who posed a threat, they would've attacked by now.

"Who is it?" Damon called, his voice dangerously low. "Stop, or there's no guarantee you'll get out here alive."

The blurred figure evidently took his message on board, because they stopped, and walked forwards out of the shadows. Her eyes streaming with tears, and looking evidently distraught, they were immensely surprised to discover it was Rose who was there.

"Rose?" Stefan said, looking stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Trevor," Rose sobbed, avoiding Damon's eyes. "H-He's dead! I – I think Elijah killed him because I – I helped." Her eyes were swimming with tears. "I'm sorry for barging in like this but…I don't have anywhere else to go. He was my f-family…"

"It's okay," Damon said, surprising Rose entirely. "You can stay here. We have plenty of beds and stuff."

"Really?" Rose looked surprised, as she wiped away her tears. "Thank you."

"I know I wanted to rip your head off when we first met, but you saved Elena, and that makes you on our side," Damon said, in response to Stefan's questioning look. "Plus, we need all the people we can get on our side."

Stefan looked down as his phone buzzed. The message made him frown and he made some sort of excuse to leave the room, which left Damon and Rose on their own. They heard the front door slam shut, which meant Stefan was now out of the house. Anything could happen now, which was probably why Rose looked so nervous, as though afraid the show of friendliness Damon had shown was just that, a show.

"You have blood on your hands," he pointed out.

"Yeah…" She looked awkward. "I had to carry Trevor outside to bury him." More tears rolled down her cheeks. "After centuries on the run together, I can't believe it ended like this. It's all my fault."

"No it isn't," Damon said firmly. "Klaus and Elijah have wrecked all our lives."

"Klaus…" Rose breathed, looking terrified. "He's here? In Mystic Falls?"

"Somewhere…" Damon poured them both a drink and handed her a glass. "I'll get back to you when I know _where_ he is. I hate not knowing these things."

"Oh, no…" Rose moaned, clutching the sides of her face. "He can't be here. He'll kill me…"

"Why?" Damon asked curiously, sitting down in the armchair. "What did _you_ do to piss him off?"

"Trevor helped Katerina escape from Klaus. I defended Trevor. What more is there to say?"

Rose flopped onto the couch, her face pale and her eyes tight with worry. She knocked back the drink and started to clench her fists just to relieve the stress and fear she felt. Damon looked at her and wondered how he could ever have thought her a threat. She looked just as pathetic and vulnerable as they all did.

"Thank you," he said suddenly, "for what you did for Elena. I know what it must've cost you."

She reached for the bottle, letting out a humourless laugh.

"I'm a dead woman, Damon. Klaus doesn't forget the people who have committed some sort of crime against him. For all I know, killing Trevor was his way of sending a message."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Damon replied wryly. Then, after a while, he added, "Don't worry, Rose. You're safe here."

"Why the sudden attitude change?" Rose asked, hiding a smile.

"I've gained new perspective on the world," he said charmingly. "And, all of a sudden, I feel almost human again. It's weird actually…"

"Normally great change springs from great love," Rose explained, studying him carefully. "Or so a poet I once ran into told me."

"He sounds like a bowl full of fun," Damon snorted.

"You dodged the question."

"What question?" Damon asked jokingly. "There wasn't one there."

She leaned back, looking almost cheerful again.

"Lexie told me about you," she said, smiling. "She told me you were the bad parts of being a vampire. If she saw you now, I guess she'd have to change that statement."

Damon was getting uncomfortable with the way the conversation was turning. Sure, he could cope with her being around and all, but there was such a thing as moderation. He could be her friend, yes, but anything more and he was getting dangerously close to doing exactly what Bonnie had warned him against – hurting Elena. But, hell, he was a man, and he had needs. And he needed a distraction whilst Elena ummed and aahed about what exactly it was the two of them were doing.

"Want some wine?" he asked, nodding towards her empty glass. "I think I can rummage up a bottle or two."

"Sure," she nodded.

He smiled at her and left her, realizing even if wasn't anything more, he could find a friend in Rose. She seemed vulnerable, lonely, even, and all his past anger and hatred towards her vanished. And, hell, he'd had a few moments in his life which he could chalk up to resulting in the same sort of grief Rose was experiencing now. Although he'd never allowed anyone to help him through the grief of losing Katherine, they'd helped him all the same, so the least he could do is help someone in the same boat as him.

* * *

Out in the bitter cold night, Stefan walked out into the woods, his hands in his pocket, his heart on his sleeve. He really didn't want to be out here again but the text from the unknown number had intrigued him. If there was a way to kill Klaus, he wanted to be the first to hear it,

"Hello, Stefan," a familiar voice purred.

He grinded to a halt, his lips instinctively curling into a snarl.

"Katherine," he said through gritted teeth, turning around so he was facing her. "Where did you go?"

"I was just catching up with an old friend," Katherine revealed, smirking. "No need to be jealous, Stefan. I'm all yours."

He retreated a little, his features twisted into an angry expression.

"Stop making flirty comments," he snarled. "I don't love you, Katherine. I never did. You compelled me to love you and, for that, I'll always hate you."

She never lost the seductive look on her face, although he noticed her face hardened fractionally. She came to a halt in front of him, her hands place on her lips as if to demonstrate to him that she was in full control.

"I've got some information for you, Stefan," she said, pursing her lips, as if contemplating something. "I managed to dig it up a while ago but I had to be sure before I told you it. It's to do with your precious Elena."

"Why did your text say you knew how to kill Klaus?" Stefan asked, shaking his phone at her. "More lies…Why am I not surprised?"

"It does," Katherine snapped. "Now, if you've stopped bitching, let me tell you what I've got to say. If you're gonna believe anything I say, believe what I'm about to tell you." She sighed, and fidgeted on the spot, clearly wrestling with something. "The dagger and the ash is one way to kill an Original. There's another. I had to do about a century of digging to find this out, so if you doubt the authenticity of it…well, go screw yourself. You're not going to like it though"

"Just talk," Stefan commanded.

"Fine, I'm talking." She sighed. "Klaus is supposedly made weaker after the sacrifice, and there's a certain spell you can do…"

"Wait a minute." Stefan raised a hand. "What are you - ? _After _the sacrifice?"

"Let me finish," Katherine commanded, looking fierce. "According to a bunch of lores you won't have heard of – and which took me nearly a century just to research, check and actually try it out on – there's a spell witches can do which can kill an Original by removing all the blood in their body. I suppose they wanted to make the punishment fit the crime." She chuckled mirthlessly. "It's dangerous to do, however, and I know for a fact I went through about three witches just to find out how best to do it safely. Buuuuuuut, if it works, Klaus will be dead. If Klaus is dead, I think from there you can kill every other vampire who poses a threat and de-spell the moonstone so that the curse is effectively destroyed. Good luck with that part, by the way."

All through her speech, Stefan had only concentrated on a single phrase. _After the sacrifice_… His mind reeled with the implications, and he was stupid enough to actually open his mouth and spill his thoughts.

"After the sacrifice?" he repeated. "Elena will be dead. All of this will be for nothing. We're trying to _save_ her, Katherine, not hand her over on a silver plate."

"I did say you weren't going to like it, Stefan," Katherine said, her voice remarkably gentle. "Let's face it, Stefan, one dagger and the tiniest amount of ash aren't going to last you very long. You've not even _met_ the Originals yet; just a bunch of scrawny, pathetic, not even remotely threatening vampires. And you meet _them_ on a daily basis, it seems." She folded her arms. "When the Originals come, you only have _one_ dagger, which, I looked up, has to _stay_ inside the body of the Original, otherwise they won't stay dead for long."

"What?" Stefan was white with shock. "Is that true?"

"Yep. And, bonus fact, the vampire who slays the Original with said dagger ends up dying themselves. Guess that wasn't mentioned in the fine print, huh?"

"Why didn't John mention this?" Stefan asked angrily. "Would've been nice to know!"

"Because he wants you dead!" Katherine snapped. "I don't, hence why I'm telling you all this. He might pretend he's on your side, but he and Isobel will not stop until you're out of Elena's life."

Stefan couldn't even begin to absorb all of this. He should've felt betrayal coursing through his veins, but all he felt was a numb wave of sudden realization. It wasn't really that big of a shock. Based on John's current record, he hadn't exactly proved himself to be the most trustworthy of people. And that was an understatement.

"This is the only way to stop Klaus, Stefan," Katherine said earnestly, cupping his face with her hands. "Even if your witch doesn't help, I know witches who will. Elena was doomed the moment she was born. The sooner you understand that, the sooner we can defeat Klaus."

Tears started to fall down Stefan's cheek. They would find another way; they _had_ to. But the fact that Elena was being subjected to all of this broke his heart. He knew that he'd give her anything to be alive and happy.

Even if that meant letting her be happy in the arms of someone else.

* * *

**A/n: Ooh! This turned out to be more exciting than I planned. This was just a filler chapter. Rose and Damon, I've not really decided where to go with them but, for now, they'll be friends. Elena really is being thick here, isn't she? But she's also human; we don't always make the best decisions, or say the right things. I also had to make Stefan grow up a little and realize Elena's happiness is something he treasures far more than actually being with her. He needed to be humanized a little because I think we Delena fans slate him too much. I have no idea what'll happen to Stefan but hopefully you won't think it a cop out, no matter what I do! Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up! **


	18. Just Forget the World

_Chapter 18: Just Forget the World_

_

* * *

_"So, if what you're saying is true…"

"Katherine never intended on saving Elena. She planned to let her be sacrificed after all."

Damon stared at Stefan, both of them wearing the exact same expression of horror. He shouldn't have been surprised at the lengths that Katherine would go to in order to save her own skin. What did surprise him was the level of sheer maliciousness there was in within the plan. Even if she couldn't stand her, surely blood had to count for something? Although, on that front, he really couldn't judge because he'd spent a hundred and forty five years hating Stefan.

"Well, there you have it," he sighed. "I knew that little bitch was up to something.

"Isn't she always?" Rose chipped in, looking as concerned as they were. "I can assure you, she's always been the same lying, scheming little…toerag you know today."

"Toerag?" Damon enquired, smirking.

"I was raised in politer times," she fired back, "and since you don't have a swear jar, I'll use whatever words I like as substitutes."

"You're no fun," Damon said, pouting. "What use is it having a houseguest who doesn't swear, doesn't drink the good stuff, and who wears a hairstyle that looks like a hedgehog after being given an electric shock?"

Stefan looked suspiciously from one to the other.

"Is there something going on between you two?" he asked, snorting as they started talking over one another. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, what are we going to do? As much as I hate to admit it, Katherine has a point; we only have that one dagger and apparently it needs to stay in for the Original to stay dead."

"Yeah, but we don't know that," Damon argued. "She could be lying. She always lies, Stefan, remember? It's kind of her thing."

Stefan felt himself start to lose his temper.

"Yeah, I seem to remember you saying that before," he said slowly, in a mocking tone. "You said, as I recall, that Katherine had said something to you before you shut her in the tomb and you thought she was lying and it turned out she wasn't, so forgive me if I'm a little more inclined to believe her."

Damon blinked rapidly, unsure how to proceed next, every sarcastic response immediately dying on his tongue. A sarcastic Stefan he could take, but a hostile Stefan? He knew there was probably a reason behind Stefan's sudden personality change - there always was - but he really didn't want to have that particular conversation with him right here, right now. It didn't exactly take a genius to work out why Stefan was so upset…and Katherine couldn't necessarily be entirely at fault.

"Katherine got to you didn't she?" He went for a different angle instead. "Yeah, I know what that's like, brother. She'll flirt with you, make you feel special, but it's crap. She never gave a damn about either one of us. You said it yourself, our love for her wasn't real."

He winced as he realized that wasn't strictly true, but he didn't want to give Stefan any more ammunition to listen to Katherine, because, frankly, that was a suicidal move. He was at a place in his life now where he felt comfortable being the older brother, felt comfortable with knowing he was ultimately the one responsible for Stefan. Katherine's presence in their lives was a recipe for disaster as it was, but if she tried to get to Stefan again, and if he fell for her, only for her to stamp on his heart, he knew he wouldn't crush his brother - it would destroy him entirely. He knew he had to play this game very carefully.

"Damon's right, Stefan," Rose said gently. "Everyone that ever helped Katherine, or ever crossed paths with her, ended up dead. It's not worth buying what she says, not until we know for sure."

"Uh-huh." Stefan didn't look entirely convinced. "But Elena…"

"She'll be safe, Stefan," Damon cut across. "We're not going to go through with Katherine's so-called 'plan'. She has a lot to gain from Elena's death, remember, so it's likely she has an ulterior motive behind all of this."

He rested his glass of whiskey against the side of his head, thinking for a moment, before knocking back the liquid and setting it down again.

"So, what is our next move?" Stefan asked, his eyes avoiding Damon's.

"For now, I think we all need to get some rest," Damon said thoughtfully. "It's been a hell of a long night, and frankly I need my beauty sleep. Bonnie will be awake tomorrow and we can all discuss it then." Then, he grudgingly added, "And I want to make sure Vampire Barbie didn't get eaten as well." A smirk flashed across his face. "If anyone's gonna kill her it'll be me."

"Funny, Damon," Stefan remarked dryly. "But, I guess you're right."

And he disappeared without a further word.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rose asked, staring after him.

"It's Stefan," Damon pointed out. "He likes to make a dramatic exit. But, yeah, he'll be okay. I think…" He frowned. "I don't know why he's being such a drama queen though. We've faced annihilation before and come out of it with barely a scratch."

"It's Elena though," Rose pointed out. "He clearly loves her. Let me tell you, when you love someone every little danger imaginable suddenly increases tenfold. You are terrified you might lose them so you become protective. Love changes you."

"Have you ever loved someone?" he asked with interest.

"Uh-huh. Once." Rose smiled nostalgically. "It was back in my home town. Where the sun always shone…Oh, I can still see it all in my mind." She turned quiet, her expression downcast. "The woods; the wide open fields; the horses. It was only a passing love, mind you, but I still remember it. It's partly because of him that I refuse to take human life." She leaned back, clearly zoning out for the moment. "He was the nearby farmer's eldest son. He was tall, dark haired, utterly beautiful. In so many ways, Trevor reminded me of him. They were both impulsive, stubborn, but always willing to protect me."

"Sounds like he was too good to be true," Damon snorted, pouring himself another drink.

"He was," Rose said, holding out her glass so he could fill it up. "In some ways, he felt like a dream. This wonderful dream I didn't want to ever wake up from."

"What happened?" Damon asked, sitting back down.

"I was turned," Rose said matter-of-factly, although there was no disguising the blemish of hurt inside her dark eyes. "After that, I knew I couldn't stay there any longer. Not if I didn't want to hurt the people I loved. Trevor found me not long after that. He explained to me what had happened, took me in and made me feel like I had a family again."

Damon digested the story and thought about the dark haired girl upstairs who'd made him feel like he'd had a friend again. Okay, maybe his story was darker than Rose's, but in essence their stories were similar. They'd both been chased out of their home by what they were, their main motivation for living being this deep desire that they might see the people they loved again, alive and unharmed. He hadn't known of Katherine's survival until a while later, mind, but a part of him had always hoped.

"I'm going up to bed," Rose said suddenly, weariness dripping off of her voice. "You coming?"

"Nah, gonna stay down here a little while longer," he said, smiling up at her. "There are six other bedrooms in this house, so take your pick. It's yours for as long as you need it. Actually," he corrected himself, "there's only three, thanks to the numerous other house guests I've seemed to acquire in the space of an evening."

"Thank you, Damon. You've been…kinder than I expected," she said gratefully, resting a hand on his shoulder before gracefully exiting the room.

Normally, a sure fire way to tell if a guy liked a girl was when she left the room and his eyes followed her until she disappeared from view. Damon honestly didn't have the same impulse to follow Rose with his eyes like he had with Elena. Although, that could've been down to the fact that an extraordinary amount of bad things seemed to happen to that girl, and watching out for her was merely out of a desire to protect, rather than a desire to never let her out of his sight.

He sighed, and leaned back.

Love was complicated. Loving Elena, however, was even more complicated. He didn't know where his head was when he was around her, and he was being driven crazy by the fact that she'd voluntarily kissed him twice - thrice, if you counted his kiss in their cell - and nothing had really changed between, except the fact she _might _just like him back.

This was frustrating, so, grabbing his coat, Damon decided he was going to take a walk and mull things over. It seemed like a Stefan thing to do but, in lieu of any other options, he had to do it to clear his head.

* * *

It was morning when Bonnie felt herself awaken. Her entire body felt stiff from lack of use, and there was a faint headache lingering in her mind, but otherwise she seemed okay.

She wondered where the hell she was, because the room she was in didn't look familiar at all. It was covered in a deep, blood red wallpaper, for starters, and the window practically engulfed the room, it was that big. The bed, however, was wonderfully soft, and deep, and she bounced a little on it as she lay there, thinking to herself that this wasn't a bad room to have crashed the night in.

"You're awake," Jeremy's voice said.

She turned and saw him sitting beside her, a fact which greatly moved her. He looked tired - she could tell by his eyes - but he was sitting beside her, one of her hands inside his.

"How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Most of the night," he said, grinning. "Elena came up at one point and ordered me to sleep, so I had to leave you. I came back though."

Bonnie was touched. "Thank you, Jeremy."

"No problem." He stroked the back of her hand. "How do you feel anyway? Do you remember what happened?"

"I feel fine," she reassured him. "I knew I would collapse at some point but I had to keep going."

"This isn't funny, Bonnie," Jeremy warned her. "Next time, you might not be so lucky. You could die."

"I know." She looked solemn. "But I need to make Mystic Falls safe again, Jer, I just have to. I have to protect Elena, I have to help kill Klaus…"

"Not by yourself," Jeremy said, folding his arms. "Elena told me about this guy, Luka, who's also a witch. Maybe he can help."

She looked uncertain; he knew she was scared of dying but was on some sort of kamikaze mission to protect everyone - just like Elena. He couldn't handle anybody else dying on him; not after Vicki, Anna and his parents. He was determined not to lose anybody else.

Bonnie threw back the covers and sat up, still feeling a little bit faint. Jeremy threw an arm around her and helped her to her feet. She smiled at him, but the smile wasn't entirely there, like her mind was away with the fairies.

"You okay?" he asked her. "Seriously?"

"Still a bit tired," she confessed. "I may have to lay up on magic for a while, just until I get my strength back."

He nodded approvingly. "That's the best idea you've said yet."

"I don't remember much of last night other than blacking out," she admitted. "What happened?"

"Katherine's out the tomb; Klaus got away; Elena stabbed herself and Damon fed her vampire blood so the sacrifice ritual was all for nothing; a lot of fighting went down," Jeremy listed. "You know, the usual."

"Elena stabbed herself?" Bonnie whispered. "Is she crazy?"

"I thought so at first. But I learned not to judge when I realized you're doing the exact same thing as she is. You are both determined to end this, no matter that it costs," Jeremy reprimanded, looking stern. "Some things aren't worth dying for."

"But this is," Bonnie snapped. "We're not just talking about Elena anymore, Jeremy. We're talking about the entire world. If vampires can walk in the sun, a lot of lives will be lost."

"You know what, I don't care," Jeremy retorted. "I've lost too many people, Bonnie! If I lose anyone else, I am going to go insane. I lost Vicki, I lost Anna, I lost my parents! I can't lose Elena and you too!"

"That's not your decision to make," she said, in a less harsh tone. "Jeremy, I understand why you feel this way, but understand why I'm trying to help as much as I can too. If my Grams died for anything, it was to keep Mystic Falls safe. The way I see it, we released the tomb spell so that Damon could see Katherine wasn't in there, thus starting his journey into becoming someone good. I know that sounds pathetic, but it's the only way I can think about her death without wanting to burn Damon alive."

Jeremy let out a weak laugh at that.

"The point is," Bonnie continued. "Her loss hurts every single day. But I can't let that affect my decisions. I've just got to keep going and protect Mystic Falls, like I know she would've wanted me to."

"Would she have let you get to this point though? The point where you don't really care what happens to yourself, and where you let yourself use magic to the point where it nearly kills you?"

Bonnie scowled. "I can see you've made up your mind about this." She walked over to the door. "I'm not sacrificing myself, Jeremy. I've not reached Elena's standards yet. It's called doing what's necessary."

And she left him standing there, his jaw slack, his eyes filled with pain. He might not have any special powers (other than the nifty trick of being able to come back to life, and even then that was to do with his ring) but he could see exactly what would happen in the future if Elena and Bonnie carried on with their suicidal missions. They would both end up dead, and everything that was once good about living in Mystic Falls would be gone forever.

* * *

Elena woke up, and stretched out, feeling completely miserable, although she couldn't remember why until she'd properly woken up. She remembered Damon's confession of love, remembered the utter sincerity in his eyes, and she couldn't, wouldn't (take your pick) say the same back. She felt utterly sick to the stomach about it. What a rotten person she was.

Still, she attempted to justify her actions to herself; she wasn't entirely sure of her feelings, and Stefan was still very much part of the equation. How could she get with Damon and still be able to declare that she was nothing like Katherine? She was getting more and more like Katherine every day. In fact, it was becoming increasingly hard to look into the mirror and see the same girl who, only months ago, had still been in the grips of complete and utter grief. Where was that girl? What would she do now?

She rose from Stefan's bed and went to the bathroom, taking a quick shower before she got dressed and tied her hair in a loose ponytail. That way, she vaguely resembled the old Elena, the one who'd used to be popular and who had always got what she wanted. She could've fooled everyone but herself; that smile she tried to pull contained nothing but desperation and misery, all because she no longer knew what the right thing to do was.

As she went downstairs, she heard a creaking, which meant someone was coming down the stairs. Expecting Jeremy or Bonnie, she was vastly surprised when she turned around to see Rose there, wearing a short dressing gown and wearing a sheepish expression on her face.

"Rose?" Elena blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I've got nowhere else to go," Rose admitted. "Trevor was killed so I thought I'd be safest here. Only Klaus is apparently around, so maybe not." She coughed nervously. "So…how come you spent the night here?"

"My family thinks I'm dead," Elena said flatly. "I'm homeless."

"Tell me about it," Rose sighed. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Uh-huh." Elena eyed her suspiciously. "Do Damon and Stefan know you're here?"

"Yep. Damon was the one that offered me a room."

"Damon?" Elena sounded surprised. "He said you could stay? I thought he didn't like you?"

"That makes two of us," Rose said, sitting down. "He's been so accommodating though. He's…sweet."

A hot surge of jealousy took hold of Elena there and then. Although she had no proof Rose and Damon were together, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were getting closer. She had no right to feel this way, she knew, but surely a guy didn't confess his love to a girl and then get with someone else? No, that just wasn't how the social world worked.

"Morning," Bonnie called, entering the room.

Elena rushed to her side and hugged her tightly.

"How are you?" she asked, looking at her closely. "How do you feel?"

"I've got a headache, but I'm fine," Bonnie said, smiling at her. "How's your self-inflicted wound?"

Her facial expression screamed disapproval; Elena lowered her head a little, determined to avoid her eyes.

"It's fully healed, Bonnie. I got pretty desperate last night."

"I'd say." Bonnie shook her head. "Don't do that again, Elena. I mean it. I've lost my Grams. I can't lose my best friend too."

"I take it then you've not heard the news," Damon said darkly, emerging in the room.

For some strange reason, Bonnie seemed to blush when he came in, although Damon didn't pick up on it. Elena frowned, wondering what was going on but was diverted by Damon's strange comment,

"What news?" Bonnie asked, frowning.

"Yeah, Damon; what's going on?" Elena chipped in.

"Katherine met up with Stefan last night. Where is Stefan by the way?" Damon asked, frowning. "There is a distinct lack of judgement in the air."

"I don't know. Nobody's seen Stefan yet," Bonnie replied, scrutinising Damon carefully.

"Oh." Damon paused, then continued speaking as though he hadn't noticed Stefan's disappearance. "Turns out Katherine had no intention in helping us save you, Elena. She said after the sacrifice would be when Klaus would be most vulnerable and, from the sounds of it, she planned on using a witch to do this spell which would finish him off."

"What?" Elena nearly shouted.

"That bitch!" Bonnie joined in, looking outraged.

"I can't believe her," Elena snarled, pacing around the room. "I can't believe Stefan didn't tell me. Where the HELL is he?"

Damon watched her pace, his expression a mixture between amusement and concern.

"I have no idea, Elena," he said. "Knowing my brother, he's probably walking around feeling sorry for himself. He has that down to a fine art. I should know - I've stalked him/made him miserable for over a century."

"You know all I want is just one night when I can forget all of this," Elena said moodily. "I want to forget about Klaus, forget about the stupid sacrifice, forget about everything supernatural. I just want to be a normal teenager, living a normal life. Is that too much to ask?"

She stormed out, her face visibly upset. Bonnie, after a quick glance at Damon, followed her.

"I forget how dramatic humans can be," Rose commented, having watched the whole thing.

"Yep." Damon's eyes were on the space where Elena had just been. "They're so dramatic they should be hated, killed…etc…"

"I'd believe that speech a little better if I didn't know you were in love with one," Rose said, laughing. "Come on, Damon. I'm not blind. You were looking at Elena the whole time."

"So?"

"So…have you told her how you feel?"

"Uh-huh, and I didn't compel her to forget afterwards, which I was planning to do."

Rose gave him a funny look. "Why would you do that? Wouldn't that eradicate the point of actually telling her?"

"Huh…" Damon frowned. "I don't like you. You best me at everything and, as the smoothest, most charming bachelor in Mystic Falls, I can't have that."

"Well, you can still keep your reputation. I can't do anything about that considering I can't go out in sunlight," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Yay, I win!" Damon gave a mock cheer. Then, seriously, he added, "I hope she's okay. Think I should go talk to her?"

"Nope." Rose leaned back. "That's what best friends are for. Girls hash it out between themselves. All you have to do is be supportive and try not to screw things up."

"I'd never screw things up with Elena."

"Oh really?" Jeremy said from the other side of the room. "So you've never boasted about killing her birth mother, turned her brother's girlfriend and then killed her, and then killed her brother all because she wouldn't kiss you? You've never done any of those things?"

Damon whirled around, glaring at Jeremy.

"Are you still here?" he spat, although his eyes glinted with humour.

"Can't get rid of me that easily, Damon," Jeremy taunted. "You're the one who offered me your place to stay."

"Yeah, but that was when your hot aunt was included in the bargain," Damon grumbled. "Now all I get is a constant headache every time you open your mouth."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and then promptly muttered something about going somewhere where he wasn't insulted every time he entered the room. Hiding a snigger, Damon turned back to Rose, who was also rolling her eyes.

"What?" he demanded.

"You treat all your houseguests like that?" she asked, smirking.

"Only the annoying ones," Damon replied, wearing a matching smirk. "The rest, I just generally ignore."

Rose raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment any further.

* * *

"Stefan."

She saw him hunched up in the corner of the Grille, looking lonelier than she'd ever seen him before. Making her way towards him, she tried to catch his attention again.

"Stefan?"

He turned his head to stare at her.

"Caroline? Are you okay?"

"That's a question better made for you." Caroline sat opposite him. "Elena called me and told me what Katherine told you." She reached out and placed her hands on top of his. "How are you doing?"

Stefan sighed, unsure where to start. He was losing Elena, in more ways than one, and he felt like everything he once knew was becoming foreign to him. He was forgetting the very fabrics of the human life he so desperately clung to. Every day was an uphill climb, now, and it didn't get any easier. He'd made one decision out of the millions of questions he had to contemplate; as soon as this was all over, he had to get out of Mystic Falls.

He began to tell Caroline about his inner thoughts. Surprised at the fact she was actually a good listener, he rambled on, telling her about his worries about Damon and Elena, about how Elena was becoming more of a stranger to him every day, and how he wished he could just press pause on life and just figure things out.

"Things are that bad, huh?" Caroline smiled sympathetically. "Could be worse, Stefan. You could be Tyler."

"How is he?" Stefan asked.

"Exhausted, naturally," Caroline replied. "He says every muscle aches and that he can't remember a good part of the night, but he'll be okay though. I've said I'm here for him. We all are." She sighed. "It was brutal, Stefan. I wish I could just take that away from him. He doesn't deserve that sort of pain."

Stefan sipped at his drink and tried to smile at Caroline, only it came out as a sort of grimace. He kept envisioning Damon wrapping his arms around Elena and it was driving him crazy. He didn't want to be _that _guy, the dick who couldn't let his girlfriend go, but he loved her so much. Whoever said that if you loved someone you'd let them go obviously was someone who'd never experienced love before. Love forged you together. Separation was never easy to experience, never easy to create. Supposedly time made it easier, but not enough time had passed, therefore he was still bitter, still hurting over it.

He'd never admit it to Damon or Elena, but he'd seen them kissing, and heard Damon's passionate declaration of love. And his heart had broken in two, rendered completely useless. So he made excuses not to be in the same room as either of them for too long. It was petty, he knew, but heartbreak - or love, for that matter - never made you rational.

"I've got tickets for a concert next week if you want to come," Caroline offered. "I was going to sell them, since my aunt - who totally doesn't know me - gave them to me for Christmas, but I suppose we can go."

"I don't think I'm in the mood for a concert," he sighed. "We've got Klaus out there, and I just don't think we can be distracted…"

"Oh, come on…" Caroline wheedled. "Elena tells me you love Bon Jovi."

"Bon Jovi?" Stefan had a flashback. "I love him."

He remembered Lexie and suddenly felt sad again. He missed her; mostly, he missed having a friend like her around. He wanted to have that again and Caroline was this sweet, funny character with a lot of spunk. She reminded him of Lexie in so many ways, and he would be mad to turn her generous offer down.

"Okay," he said, smiling genuinely. "Sounds fun."

"Super," Caroline said, sounding excited. "I'm not too fond of Bon Jovi but it's just been so long since I've had some good, normal fun, you know?"

"Yeah, I do know," Stefan said, his smile fading.

"You're getting broody again, Stefan," Caroline warned him. "I think we've got plenty of time to plan how we're going to take down Klaus… Let's just go have some good old-fashioned fun." She tossed him a leaflet she'd picked up earlier. "There's a dance going on at school tomorrow night. Wanna go?"

"With you?" He raised an eyebrow. "Caroline, you know I don't like dancing…"

She sat back, looking exasperated.

"So? When was the last time you did something just for the hell of it?" she demanded. "Look, I'm never going to get to be a mother, or get to grow old gracefully with the love of my life. These are the years of my life I should be seizing. I can't think of anyone I'd like to do some "seizing" with than you. " She saw Stefan's wavering look of uncertainty and added, "Look if it's lame, we'll leave. We're friends, Stefan, and I know when my friends are hurting. So, just forget about the reasons why you can't, and think about the reasons why you can."

He smiled again, genuinely touched. Who knew Caroline Forbes could have a deep side? She was incredibly caring, more so than usual, and he realized being a vampire actually had been the best thing to ever happen to her. And he saw so much of Lexie in her, it was unreal.

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's do this."

* * *

"Knock, knock…"

Elena barely raised her head. "Go away, Damon."

"Charming… This is my house," Damon snorted. "I should be telling you to go. Only…"

"I don't have a house," Elena answered, gloomily. "Don't remind me."

He sat on the edge of Stefan's bed and stared at her, wishing he could just wave a wand and make her happy. Actually, he'd formulated a plan inside his head, which he was about to carry out, which would give her a bit of normality and remind her of how much he truly cared about her.

"Come with me," he said mysteriously, extending a hand.

"It's night, Damon," she said moodily. "I want to go to bed and just forget this horrible day."

"You could, or you could come with me," Damon said through gritted teeth. "It wasn't a suggestion, Elena."

She sighed heavily, and rose to her feet, ignoring his hand.

"Where do you want me to go?"

He scrutinised her carefully for a second, before his expression changed into a _well, I've got no other choice _type of look, before he sped over to her and swept her into his arms. She barely had time to yelp before he'd taken her up and out of the house, so that they were on the roof.

"Damon…." Elena was terrified. "We're on the roof!"

"Well done, Sherlock," he said cheerfully. "That we are."

"Why are we here?" she asked, looking, despite herself, at the long drop there was to the ground. She closed her eyes, trying not to panic.

She heard the sound of a music player being switched on and the faint sounds of a very familiar sound being belted out.

_You light the skies up above me  
__A star so bright you blind me  
__Don't close your eyes, don't fade away  
__Don't fade away oh-h-h-hh  
_

"Damon…" She opened her eyes. "What is this?"

He extended a hand again.

"A bit of fun," he said gruffly. "Come on, stand up."

"Are you kidding? I'll fall!"

"No, you won't. Trust me."

Elena sighed, the fear mounting up in her chest, but she had to trust him. She took his hand and rose in a wobbly manner to her feet. He had one arm wrapped around her to steady her, and, surprisingly, she felt safer.

"You okay? You're not going to fall?" Damon asked her.

"No," she said, her breathing returning to normal. "I'm fine."

"Good," Damon smiled, satisfied. "Dance with me."

"What?" Elena spluttered. "How can we dance on the roof? We'll die! Well, you won't but I'm human! Damon, this is reckless!"

"This is life," he said patiently. "I'm trying to help you live, Elena. You've got to take a few risks now and then, and you need to realize you'll always have someone to catch you. No one is going to let you fall."

She knew he wasn't speaking about falling off the roof, and she smiled bravely at him, feeling incredibly grateful for him.

"Take my hand," Damon commanded gently. "My other one, I mean. That's right…Now, take this one and put it around my waist. Like that, yes…We've done this before, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," she whispered, looking up into his dark eyes, lit up only by the pearl white moon behind him.

They slowly started to move and she found that there was no danger of falling as long as they kept their balance. Damon had enough balance for them both and she found herself slowly starting to enjoy herself.

_Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star  
__If you stay with me girl, we can rule the world.  
__Yeah, you and me we can light up the sky  
__If you stay by my side, we can rule the world._

"I love the music you chose," Elena said, breaking the silence. "This used to be my favourite song. Mine and Matt's, actually."

"Between you and me, I love this song too," Damon said. "I lived in England for a bit, during the 1990s. I followed them around for a bit, mostly just scaring the crap out of them." He chuckled. "I used to go to one concert in each area, just to see if they recognized me. I think they did….I've still got the restraining order somewhere…"

Elena let out a bark of laughter. "You got a restraining order?"

"Yeah but from Take That…" Damon said dreamily. "They don't make bands like them anymore."

_All the stars are coming out tonight.  
__They're lighting up the sky tonight, for you, for you  
__All the stars are coming out tonight.  
__They're lighting up the sky tonight, for you, for you_

"I always took you for a rock music kind of guy," she said, letting out the tiniest of whimpers when her foot slid a little. "I never took you for a guy who likes ballads and pop music."

"I love a variety of music," he said honestly. "Anything that isn't manufactured dribble music I'll listen to."

She smiled at him and he gently whirled her around, watching with undisguised awe at how her hair still fell perfectly into place even when the forces of nature struck, a perfect metaphor for her beauty.

"Why did you do all this for me, Damon?" she asked. "Be serious."

Damon thought for a moment

"Because I want you to have an evening of fun," he said seriously, tucking a loose hair behind her ear. "I wanted this to be real, something you can hold onto when times get rough." He hesitated. "I know I've been a first class jerk to you, Elena, but I want you to know I'll always be here for you. Even if it means watching you grow old and die in Stefan's arms."

She fell silent, not knowing what to say. Tears bubbled at the corners of her eyes but she couldn't find a single damn word to say. Her chest tightened; she found it hard to breathe, and yet she wouldn't have traded this moment for the world. This was one of the best night's of her life; a night of just pure, uninterrupted _fun_.

"Thank you, Damon," she said, her voice catching in her throat. "This is just…I don't know what to…It's…"

"Don't talk. Let's just enjoy the moment," he said, pressing a single finger up against the moment. "You've talked so much the song has ended, now, you beautiful, adorable fool."

"Sorry," she laughed. "It reminded me too much of Matt anyway. He loves all that emotional music stuff, although he won't say a damn word to anyone." She looked at him slyly. "I know someone else who's like that."

"I don't know what you mean…" Damon looked around. "Ooh, look a tree!"

She rolled her eyes but leaned her head against his chest, feeling, with some surprise, his heart beating faster than she'd ever heard it before.

"I think I love you," she whispered, hoping his leather jacket would smother out the words so she could rehash them into a less gushy sentence.

"What?"

Damon stood still and looked at her steadily, his heart barely able to withstand the impassive - yet hesitant - look on her face. He'd heard the words she'd said, but wanted them said again, just so that he could justify the unbelievable urge he had to just jump in the air and bump fists with the sky.

"I've been trying so hard not to be Katherine I never saw this coming," she murmured. "I was hoping I could get away with only loving Stefan, so I didn't end up pushing either of you away, but the fact is I love you both. I love you, and I'm so stupid for not figuring it out sooner, or for letting myself ignore it. I'm sorry."

This would've been the ideal moment to seize her and kiss her, claiming her for his own. He'd done that with Katherine (although that wasn't exactly the ideal experience to compare this to) and now he was facing the exact same thing here, although Elena had actually admitted she loved him, rather than she didn't, so that could only be good.

He threw his arms around her and held her close to him, so close that he could hear her heartbeat. He had so many words building up in his throat, but none were escaping; so emotional was he at actually being told that someone he loved actually loved him back.

"Thank you," he whispered against her hair.

And there were no other words he could conjure up at that moment.

* * *

**A/n: I do not own the song lyrics in Italics. Just thought I'd clear that up. A chapter of fluff was what was needed so I delivered. Might be a delay in the next chapter however because of my many, many, many stories which need updating lol :P Thank you for your kind reviews! GO TEAM DELENA/DAMON/BEREMY! :D **


	19. Running Right Back

_Chapter 19: Running Right Back _

_

* * *

_Jeremy was brushing his teeth when a dishevelled Elena wandered in, her hair a complete wreck, her eyes red and half closed. He raised an eyebrow but didn't mention anything for the moment, knowing full well how irritated women could be in the morning, especially if something was plaguing them. Instead, he took the safer option and remained silent.

She looked tortured, if he was being brutally honest. Judging by her appearance, she hadn't got much sleep, if any, and he had no idea what to say which would make her feel better. He wondered if he'd given her this much grief during his druggie phase; the whole phase was just a blur to him, thanks to Damon's compulsion, although he hadn't made him forget that part of his life.

"How did you sleep?" he eventually ventured, rather bravely he thought.

"I didn't," Elena replied shortly, scrubbing at her teeth harder than was necessary. She threw down her brush, turning to glare at Jeremy. "Does it bother you, even a little, that you could get killed trying to help me?"

He sighed. "Not this again, Elena…"

"Relax, Jer," she said, turning back to the mirror, trying to rearrange her hair so she looked somewhat presentable. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. Everyone seems to be on Elena patrol anyway."

"Why are you on some sort of suicide mission? We've never discussed those reasons," Jeremy asked, it being his turn to glare. "And don't give me that crap about saving all of our lives. There's more to it than that."

Elena didn't reply, although he could see he'd managed to get to her. Her eyes tightened marginally, but she remained silent. Jeremy wondered what went through her mind, whether she even factored in any one else's feelings. He wasn't accusing her of being selfish, merely being narrow minded. There was always another choice, he'd learned. Using himself as an example, he recalled how the desire to become a vampire had been the first and forefront thought in his mind. He'd not even given a second thought to how his decision would've affected everyone else in his life, and Caroline's transformation had certainly opened his eyes on that front.

If only there was a way to make Elena learn the same lesson…

"How's Jenna?" Elena asked, clearly making no effort to disguise the fact she was changing the subject. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Jeremy replied, washing his face. "The last I checked, she was doing a lot better than before. Mr Saltzman's taking her out of town for the weekend to mom and dad's lake house."

A spasm of pain flickered across Elena's face. Despite everything, there was still a deep sense of loss both of them felt, yet even now they couldn't speak of it. Some things they would never be able to fully talk about, for their own personal reasons, and it was better not to rock the boat in that department.

"Oh…" Elena tried to regain her composure. "That'll be nice for her."

"Yeah…" Jeremy didn't even bother masking his doubt. "I don't know how you can even think of giving up when Jenna is just a taste of the grief everyone will feel if something happens to you." He glared at her. "Giving up is not the Gilbert way."

"I'm not, technically, a Gilbert," Elena joked weakly. "Remember?"

She knew because John was her biological father, her claim to the Gilbert name was still intact. What she was trying to do, however, was try to reignite that precious bond her and Jeremy had managed to recapture that day she'd told him she was adopted. He was all she had left in the world she could call family. Jenna may have been alive but she was going to have to accept the fact she was never going to get to see her again; which meant Jeremy was all she had left.

"Yeah, you are, Elena. Just because we don't share the same parents doesn't mean we aren't still family. Blood doesn't necessarily make family, I mean, look at Uncle John. Nobody likes him, and he's a complete douche. Just because we share his name doesn't mean he's family."

Leaning against the counter, Elena stared into the mirror at the girl she saw who, to her horror, resembled the girl she'd been after her parent's death – not quite a ghost, but not exactly someone who was living in the moment. She felt unexpectedly emotional, feeling as though Jenna had died, like they'd all died, leaving her behind in a world where nothing made sense, not even her own feelings.

And she felt hot tears scorch her cheeks, remembering every person she'd ever loved and lost. Even Vicki Donovan, who really hadn't meant that much to her, was still engraved in her mind. She might've been alive, but she'd lost a lot more than simply Jenna. She'd lost her home.

She felt Jeremy wrap his arms around her, although she barely registered it. She had to get away from all of this, if only for a little while. All of her friends were laying their lives on the line for a battle they couldn't win. There was supposed to be a silver lining on every cloud…

Where was hers?

* * *

"Morning, sunshine," Damon greeted a rough looking Stefan as he entered the room. He raised an eyebrow. "You look terrible."

"Thank you, Damon," Stefan croaked, rubbing his head.

"You're welcome," Damon grinned, flicking the pages of his book absent-mindedly. "I particular like the way you seem to have adopted the typical teenage hangover look. Suits you to a tee."

"I was drinking last night. With all that's been going on, can you blame me?" Stefan snapped, flopping down onto the couch. "How come you're in such a good mood today, anyway?"

Damon rose to his feet fluently, almost hating himself for being amused at how pathetic Stefan looked right now. But he knew his brother was hurting over something right about now, so he kept the snarky remarks to a minimum, instead casually replying about the fact that he'd just had a good dream and left it at that.

"A good dream?" Stefan repeated doubtfully. "Right…"

Damon lost his trademark smirk when he heard a familiar sound. He frowned, wondering whether to divulge this piece of information towards Stefan, but it seemed Stefan wasn't completely oblivious to the noise either.

"Is that…?" Stefan asked in hushed tones.

"Elena? Yeah, it is," Damon replied heavily. "She sounds upset."

"Gee, you think?"

"Leave the snarky replies to _me_ Stefan. Because of your wonderful skill of making every sentence sound melodiously dull, you have dented the reputation of the artist formerly known as sarcasm."

"Should we go up to her?" Stefan sounded troubled.

"Jeremy's up there. He'll handle it," Damon said, although the urge to just rush to her side and see how she was nearly killed him.

"I'm worried, Damon," Stefan said, ignoring his headache. "I'm worried Elena's going to do something stupid."

"Yeah, I know…" Damon poured himself a drink, despite the fact it had to be about nine in the morning. "She's not exactly got sensible tattooed onto her forehead, and she thinks we're being stupid trying to fight for her."

"So…what do we do? Should we talk to her?" Stefan was hashing out the plan in his own mind. "We could try reasoning with her…"

"Tried that," Damon immediately replied. "In this frame of mind, she doesn't listen to reason. "We could try my earlier suggestion and handcuff her to the bed." He smirked. "That idea has more than one benefit, mind you…"

Stefan scowled. "Helpful, Damon…"

"Hey, it was just a suggestion," Damon protested. "And you didn't exactly say no…"

"No!"

"Fine…" Damon pretended to pout. "You shoot a hole in all my kinky plans." He thought for a moment, remembering something. "What's with your best gear all laid out on your bed? Got a hot date or something?"

"There's this stupid dance at the school and I got talked into going," Stefan muttered, taking the drink off of Damon and finishing it off despite his protests.

"With Elena?"

"No, with Caroline…" Stefan braced himself for the volley of snarky remarks, surprised when none came.

"Caroline, huh?" Damon sounded thoughtful. "Does Elena know about your special plans?"

"She doesn't need to know," Stefan said shortly. "We're going as friends."

"That's how every stupid romance starts, Stefan!" Damon exclaimed in exasperation. "Believe it or not, the 'just friends' rule never works…in any situation. It'll start off with a dance or two. The two of you will find yourselves drawn to each other, unable to think about anything else. You'll find yourself avoiding her because you'll be so conflicted over the rights and wrongs of it all. And then you'll cave in and blur the lines between being just friends and being just that guy who just happens to be going around her house every night for no properly explained reason."

"You think…? Me and Caroline?" Stefan snorted. "We're friends, Damon, that's all. You robbed me of Lexie, so please have the common decency to not judge me for wanting to hang out with Caroline."

Damon, rendered speechless, watched as Stefan started to walk out of the room, a sudden thought cropping up into his mind.

"She's not Lexie, Stefan," he warned. "So don't for a second pretend she is. All that'll do is set you up for a fall even you can't recover from." His tone softened. "I'm sorry about Lexie, I really am, but don't hold onto her memory. Coming from someone who knows about holding on to something you love, it's not healthy. And all it does is hurt the people around you."

"Since when are you Mr Caring?" Stefan snorted, disbelief engraved into every word. "What are you up to?"

"I can see you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, so my emotional speech is done." Damon walked across the room, rolling his eyes as he felt Stefan breathing down his neck. "Don't be obvious, Stefan…"

He slowly rotated to see Stefan looking tortured, looking as though he wanted to say something, before his jaw tightened and he sped away in a blur. Damon fought the urge to call him back, knowing there was obviously a reason behind this tortured façade and he would reveal it when he was ready to.

The sounds of Elena's heavy sobs weighed heavily on his conscience. He could hear Jeremy trying to comfort her but he was struggling not to rush upstairs, push the little squirt out of the way, and take her in his arms himself. The depth of his love for her took even him by surprise. Lecturing Stefan on unhealthy obsessions seemed a bit rich especially considering how borderline obsessive his feelings for Elena were.

Sighing heavily, Damon decided the best plan of action was to find the people who'd gone MIA during the fight. Number one on the itinerary was kicking their asses for disappearing, and number two was demanding answers. They needed all the facts if they were going to defeat Klaus, and that meant no more lies and secrets.

He heard the door open, and turned his eyes as a downcast Alaric came walking in, looking like he'd aged a decade overnight. Damon wished he could just shut off the part of him that actually _cared_ about his friends, because he was losing himself with every sentimental moment that passed.

"What's going on? You, also, look terrible," he said, not unkindly.

Alaric flopped onto the couch, mirroring Stefan's actions spookily well. He ran his hand through his head and just looked as though he needed a stiff drink. It was lucky, then, that he'd come to the house of someone who stocked alcoholic beverages by the dozen. Damon wordlessly passed Alaric a glass and sat back down in his armchair, waiting for the teacher to break the unbearable silence which reeked of tension and crippled anger.

"Me and Jenna had a fight," Alaric said, avoiding Damon's gaze. "She…She took off in her car. I don't know where she went."

"What?" Damon rose to his feet, his expression one of utter horror. "She's _missing?_"

"Yeah…" Alaric frowned. "Why, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Klaus is out there," Damon hissed. "We don't know where he is, or what his next move is. Jenna shouldn't be out there alone. She is related to Elena, therefore is an imminent target."

Alaric looked sickened by the thought. He rose to his feet and made to stumble towards the door but Damon beat him to it.

"Okay, we can rectify this horrible twist in the story," he said calmly. "I'll go out and look for her, okay? I can cover a lot more area than you can." He contemplated for a moment. "All the same, you check around the Mystic Falls town area, you know, all the local places everyone knows. How bad was this fight, anyway?"

"She knows I'm keeping something from her," Alaric confessed. "I don't know what put the idea in her head. She's been asking me all sorts of odd questions about Isobel…"

"Damn it… Katherine's out of the tomb," Damon suddenly hissed, realizing Jenna was in more danger than they'd originally thought.

"But she was the one who compelled…"

"Come on, you're coming with me…" Damon snapped, blurring his way over to his car. He stopped in mid-blur, his eyes widening with intense confusion. "What the…?"

His car was gone.

* * *

"Bonnie…answer your phone, damn it."

Jeremy snapped his phone shut, frustrated with Bonnie's silence. Ever since their argument, she'd been avoiding him. Even if they stumbled across each other, she always made a point of mumbling some sort of excuse before she dashed off. He couldn't for the life of him work out what it was he was supposed to have said – or done – which had made her act like this.

He glanced in the bedroom he'd left Elena in. She was an emotional wreck right now, and he was trying to call Bonnie so that she could come round and attempt to cheer her up. If there was one thing he knew about women, it was that in times of crisis, the one thing guaranteed to make the situation a little more bearable was the company of friends. Best friends, specifically. He'd been unable to get hold of Caroline, however, and Bonnie had been his last hope.

He sighed, and then wandered back into the room, seeing the lump under the covers and immediately understanding Elena didn't want to talk. So he just sat there, humming to himself, hoping against hope someone would ring him back. He flicked through his list of contacts, hesitating when his phone highlighted Damon's name, but immediately snapped his phone shut.

"Elena, I'm going out for a bit. You gonna be okay?" he asked.

There was no reply.

He frowned. "Elena…?"

He lifted back the covers, feeling a mixture of grudging admiration and disbelief as he realized she'd folded the blanket in on itself so that it vaguely resembled a body shape. She must've snuck away when he'd been trying to contact Caroline or Bonnie. Come to think of it…Could that sound of the car engine have been her? No…surely not. Where would she go where she wasn't likely to be spotted?

Jeremy sighed, then ran down the stairs, taking the two at a time, spotting Damon and Alaric hovering by the door.

"Elena's gone," he panted, skidding to a halt in front of them.

"Figured as much," Damon replied, looking cross. "Considering she's the only one who knows where I keep my car keys."

"She jacked your car?" Jeremy asked, smirking.

"Yeah, it's completely hilarious." Damon scowled, looking from Alaric to Jeremy, as though it was their fault Elena had stolen his car. "Did she give any indication as to where she might've gone?"

"No…" Jeremy admitted.

"What did she say exactly?" Damon rephrased the question. "Is there anything she might've said which would, in hindsight – the skill we're using _right now_ – suggest she might take off?"

Jeremy racked his brain and, initially, came up with nothing. Then he remembered her saying something and he met Damon's eyes, a look of impatient expectation hovering there.

"She did say something about wanting a time out," he said slowly. "She was upset about Jenna and everything else that's gone on and she just wanted a time out."

Damon registered the phrase in his mind and something immediately clicked.

"I know where she's gone," he said shortly. "Alaric…you and Jeremy take your car and go find Jenna. I'll go round up the other runaway."

"Jenna's missing?" Jeremy sounded alarmed.

"He'll catch you up," Damon snapped. "Now hand me your keys, Jeremy. Your car is the only one bearable enough to be seen driving in."

"Bossy," Jeremy grumbled, but nonetheless complied.

Alaric waited until Jeremy was out of earshot before he leaned over and asked Damon how he could be so sure where Elena was.

"Because I know her," Damon replied shortly. "And I know for a fact she wants to be followed, otherwise she wouldn't have left that coded message, something she knew only I would be able to understand."

Alaric looked baffled. "Coded message?" he spluttered.

"This is clearly beyond your understanding capabilities, Ric, so go find Jenna," Damon commanded, giving him a gentle but firm push out of the door. "I have too many people to rescue today and it's already giving me a headache…"

With a heavy sigh, he looked at Jeremy's car and then reluctantly walked towards it. He knew Elena had taken his car had been all part of the ploy to lure him after her. He had to admire her efforts, even though he wanted to kill her for being so overly dramatic.

He climbed into the car and, ignoring every single speed limit, he raced away, tearing down every road with the same kind of madness he'd felt when feasting on Vicki Donovan and her druggie friends. Oh, yeah… It hurt to think about that because he was _evolving_. Wasn't the flaw behind evolving was that things became weaker? Look at the dinosaurs, who'd once been the big bad boys in town. Weren't scientists blabbering on about how smaller, infinitely weaker creatures had evolved from the dinosaurs?

What was he _blathering_ on about? His thoughts were devolving into the thoughts of a madman. He drove past towns and villages, wondering vaguely how many harboured vampires like himself, how many people kept vervain on their person at all times, how many had looked into the eyes of one and lived to tell the tale.

Eventually, after several hours of driving, and several missed calls from Alaric and Jeremy (he couldn't concern himself with them right now) he'd arrived in the state of Georgia, smiling ironically to himself at how much love he felt for this beautiful state. He was quite amused by Elena's choice of a rendezvous point; selecting this place was, in his eyes, an admission that that night had held a special place in her heart too.

The bar was easy to find; returning there, however, knowing that the last time he'd been here he'd killed a witch (something Bonnie would surely murder him for, even though she'd never met her) all because she couldn't help him. He hovered outside the bar, again cursing himself for allowing himself to fall back into those familiar – but accursed – human habits. Hesitancy was for humans, something he was supposed to _despise_ not aspire to be.

* * *

After fleeing the Boarding House, Elena had decided she had to repay Damon for the rooftop dancing experience. She remembered the night in Georgia and remembered how they'd pressed pause on everything else, just to take that one night off and make it a night to remember. Why couldn't they have another moment like that now?

She'd torn down the highway, surprised how much of the way she actually remembered considering she'd been unconscious for most of the way. Desperation was her motivation, here, and she knew no one else would understand this dire need to just forget for one night all the troubles and woes her life had managed to capture. It seemed like she and Jeremy were forever doomed to lose the ones they loved and that thought followed her all the way to Georgia. And, as much as she was reluctant to say it, maybe he was right about her giving up. How could she condone him for risking his life to protect her, when she was doing the exact same for him?

The bar looked slightly more run down than the last time she'd seen it. The outside looked grimier, and some of the windows had been boarded up. A forlorn 'For sale' sign was posted into the ground, but had obviously been subject to an assault of the wind, as it leaned heavily to one side. She could still discern the bar in her memory, though, and she didn't hesitate as she walked through the door, hoping to see Bree again.

The bar was deserted, mostly. Only a few rough looking men seemed to be in here and, feeling more nervous than she'd originally felt, Elena stepped forward, trying to appear confident as she approached the counter.

"Can I help you?" a spotty faced woman, in about her mid to late thirties asked, her voice reeking of grumpiness.

"Is Bree here?" Elena asked tentatively.

"She's dead, hon," the woman replied, a permanent frown on her face. "Had her heart ripped out by some kind of psychotic killer."

Elena's thoughts immediately turned to Damon and she sighed, pursing her lips together, wishing she could feel something about that. Hurt…anger…disapproval… She felt nothing. It was like she was used to hearing about Damon's dark acts, because she found the news soon became sorted into the 'heard it all before' category.

She ordered her drink – thankfully, the bartender (a ghastly looking woman, with bleached blonde hair and a warty mouth) didn't seem to care enough to ask whether she was legal or not – and waited nervously for Damon to catch up. She felt bad for leaving Jeremy in the lurch, but nobody seemed prone to letting her out of sight nowadays, and she felt like if she told them they were keeping her prisoner here, and therefore were no better than her captors, they wouldn't listen, simply drilling into her head the fact they were trying to help her.

She took a long gulp of her drink, feeling momentarily refreshed even though the liquid had a suspiciously dusty taste to it.

"So…Back here again, huh?" Damon's familiar cocky voice met her ears.

She turned to stare as he walked in, his familiar swagger to his walk making her smile. He gave her a flash of his crooked smile and took a seat next to her, wondering which of his many questions he should ask her.

"Your car's around the back," she informed him, giving him a sheepish smile.

"I know…" he replied coyly. "And, by the way, if you take my car again, and it doesn't matter that you're Elena, the woman I deeply cherish and love, I will kill you, understand?"

She laughed. "Death threats, Damon…really?"

"You think I'm joking but I'm not," he said lightly, smirking at her.

He ordered himself a drink, deciding while he was here he might as well indulge himself with an alcoholic beverage.

"How did you manage to sneak past the bro?" he asked.

"He was on the phone," Elena replied coyly. "I just chose my moment and ran."

"How did I not hear you?"

"I think you must've thought Stefan left the house, but it was me," Elena said simply.

"Where did Stefan go then?"

"No idea." Elena shrugged. "I'm really worried about him, though. He's not been able to look at me in the eye for a while."

Damon hesitated, secretly wondering if he should divulge about how Stefan had acted around him earlier. He knew Elena was still in love with Stefan, however, and that telling her about Stefan's rapid decline in mood would only make her worry. Stefan went through phases like he went through haircuts, so it was more than likely he would soon snap out of it.

"He'll be fine," he eventually said, taking a gulp of his drink. "Anyway…back to this devious side of you I never _imagined_ could exist… How did you know where my keys were? I always keep them on my person at all times."

"I have my ways," she replied smugly.

"I'll say…" Damon smiled at her. "So…what specifically tipped you over the edge into coming here?"

"I don't know…" Elena looked at her hands. "We came here when everything back home seemed to be so overwhelming. Now, it's even worse. I don't know when Klaus will come for me, who he'll hurt for what I did, and what will happen next. There's always going to be _something_, Damon, which will stop all of us from living in the moment. I'm supposed to be seventeen, and I can't remember the last time I did something teenage-y, like sneaking out to go to a party, or drinking myself stupid. I miss all of it, you know."

He gazed at her, absorbing the truth in her words. It was kind of hard to think about little things like that, when the bigger picture was so much darker, and scarier, than anyone could ever imagine. He understood what she was saying, but not why she was saying it. How could she say she missed being a teenager when, if her plan came to fruition, she would be ending that herself?

"Can I just take the moral high ground just this once and ask: how are you planning to drive back if you're planning on drinking yourself stupid?" he asked, chuckling at the phrase. "I'm certainly not leaving my car here, and Jeremy will burn me on the spot if I leave his."

"I didn't really think this far ahead," Elena confessed.

"Figures," Damon snorted. "Thinking isn't really your forte, is it?"

She narrowed her eyes, sensing an argument hanging in the air.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're not thinking about protecting yourself in all this madness," he hissed. "You think you're protecting everyone by planning to give yourself up, but you're not. All you're doing is hurting them. Do you think we're going to be fine and dandy after Klaus kills you and leaves Mystic Falls? No. Do you think we'll ever stop hurting because of your rash decision? No!"

"So, what, I'm not allowed to protect all of you? I have to just listen to you all talk about _my_ fate?" Elena was angry, angrier than she'd been in a long time. "That's _crap_, Damon!"

"Don't swear at me," he growled.

She took a swing at him but he grabbed her hand and tightened his grip on it, so that he saw her expression change into one of faint pain, before throwing it back. She glared at him, clearly pissed off, but at this point he didn't care. He had to get it through somehow that whatever she was planning, it was a load of crap and should be scrapped immediately, never to be thought of again.

"Don't follow me," she snarled, grabbing her coat and proceeding to storm out.

"Where are you going?" he shouted.

"Home!" she shouted back. "Oh, wait… I don't have a home anymore! JERK!"

Rolling his eyes at what had clearly turned into an infantile argument, Damon decided to finish both their drinks and allow her to cool off in the car, which was surely as far as she would get. He eyed the barmaid, before shuddering with revulsion, and knocked back his drink before starting on hers, realizing the faint noise he was hearing was the sound of a car engine.

He rolled his eyes again. All she would end up doing would involve her driving down the end of the road, pulling over and letting out some frustrated tears, by which time he would've caught her up. Yes, there was no sense going after her just yet, although he did worry that with her emotions so high, she would do something stupid.

He would finish this beverage and go, he decided, on a compromise.

So, why did it feel like waiting any longer than he had to would mean making the biggest mistake in his life?

* * *

Angrily, Elena opened the door to Damon's car – treating it none too kindly – and sat there for a moment, merely breathing heavily into the darkness. Then, after a few seconds, she put the key into the ignition and started the engine up, slamming the acceleration pedal so that she literally made the car bolt out of the bar.

All down the road she went at a steady hundred miles an hour. She wondered how the police hadn't tried to chase her at this point, but she was still so angry. Her hands shook at the wheel; her eyes streamed with frustrate tears. Damon's voice had sounded so angry, so disappointed, that she felt like screaming that she hadn't done anything wrong. But what did yelling achieve? Yelling at Stefan was so much easier to do, although she felt guilty for doing it, because he remained so impassive, like he deserved to be on the end of her temper. Yelling at Damon was harder, yet more satisfying, because he fought back, and sometimes it was only when you argued with someone that your true emotions surfaced.

She looked back every so often, waiting for the flash of headlights which meant he was following her. Secretly, she was waiting for a reason to pull over and just fall into his arms. Stubbornness drove her on, and it was getting darker and darker. She could see the faint outline of the moon in the sky.

Because of the speed she was going at, she arrived in Mystic Falls sooner than she'd expected. She found the tears were flowing faster, probably because Damon hadn't followed her like she'd hoped for. She didn't know what had even happened. The argument, like most of their moments, had come out of nowhere, unplanned, unprepared for and unresolved, for the moment anyway.

Still upset, Elena flicked on the radio, which was actually pretty decent for a car like this. Songs about heartbreak seemed to be playing on the only good radio station so, frustrated, she tuned into some sort of classical score, angry that what had been a good idea for an evening on paper had turned into a disaster.

Elena's eyes widened as she realized she recognized the music being played. The name didn't register with her, but she vaguely recalled Stefan playing it for her on one of those few dates they'd been on to this little piano bar. He'd compelled the current player and had immediately dazzled the few people in there with his stunning ability to be able to play with such finesse, such emotion, that he'd managed to move a few people into tears.

_What's the matter with me?_ she questioned, feeling miserable. _Why am I missing Stefan so much?_

Simple – because those first few weeks with Stefan, before she'd found out what he was, had been so simple, so easy, there had been no need to try with him. Once they'd gone over the first few bumps of a new relationship, they'd managed to ease into this beautiful relationship, which only love songs and novels were made out of.

Yet, looking at the other side of the coin, there was this undeniable fire with Damon she'd never had with Stefan. Every time they had a moment, her heart skipped a beat, and she found herself releasing a breath she'd never realized she'd been holding. There was passion there, something she remembered talking to Stefan about, in regards to her failed relationship with Matt. Every time she cared for him, however, he did something which made her regret her feeling that way, and vice versa. But maybe that was to do with the old adage that the more you loved someone, the easier it was for the feeling to flip on its side so that you ended up hating them like hell.

Having come to this realization, Elena smiled through her tears. She decided she was going to call Damon and apologize. She managed to retrieve her cell phone when something suddenly dashed out in front of her car. Letting out a sharp gasp, she dropped her phone (which had started to ring) and spun the wheel around wildly, at the same time slamming her foot down onto the brakes.

The combination of both actions meant the vehicle went veering out of control. Screaming loudly (for all the good it would do), Elena watched with a frozen kind of horror as the headlights revealed Wickery Bridge. She was about to meet the same fate of her parents.

With a sickening kind of grace, the car performed a swan dive off the bride and hit the water. Elena felt her entire body slam back into the seat, her screams still ongoing. The car didn't sink straight away, so she anxiously tried to remove her seat belt and swim for safety. The seatbelt jammed, which meant removing it was a struggle. Frantic at this point, Elena began to sob as she tried to pull at the door. Like all her efforts, it was a futile gesture, and her sobs began to increase as she saw the water pour in as the car sunk lower and lower into the water.

The water was icy cold, just like it'd been the night her parents had died. Elena let out a sharp gasp as the water finally reached her. It was rising rapidly, especially now that the car was now fully submerged. She prayed Stefan was out on a nightly hunt, that maybe he might have heard the car crash into the water and come and save her. Or maybe Damon had caught up by now and would dive in after her.

She tried, once again, to release the seatbelt but it was stuck. She leaned over and thought she saw something leaning across the top of the water. It looked like her face, but she was under the water, and wouldn't have a reflection in anything but the car mirrors and windows.

The water level rose faster and faster and she knew she was surely lost. It was up to her waist at this point and the surface was getting further and further away from her, until even she had to admit it was a lost cause.

And so, for the first time in a long time, she closed her eyes and prayed.

* * *

**A/n: Thank you for the reviews! I can't believe I've got this many! The twist at the end of this chapter was one I wanted to include for a long time. So yay! Well, maybe not yay for Elena lol. :P Keep reviewing and don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon although it's hard to be inspired without any new episodes :( If anyone knows any good Vampire Diaries Fanfiction let me know! I'm often inspired now by reading them! :D **


	20. Doppelganger Surprises

_Chapter 20: Doppelganger Surprises_

* * *

_She was surprised – not to mention overwhelmed – at the fact she seemed to have ended up home. There was no car, no bridge, no impending doom… Just the quiet house she'd lived in her entire life. She walked around the place, memorising it, even though there was absolutely no need. Little flashbacks leaped out at her as certain images caught her eye. The cupboard nobody could ever find again after stumbling it on once caught her eye, and it triggered the memory of when she'd hidden there as a child during a game of hide and seek; a game which had ended disastrously because, under the impression everyone had forgotten about her, she'd dissolved into floods of tears, prompting her exasperate mother to retrieve her, subsequently banning the game. _

_In the lounge, she saw the fishing trophy her father had won, beating both the Lockwood family and the Fell family (Jenna had been thrilled when she'd recounted that tale, gratified by anything that showed Logan in a bad light). She also saw the infamous family portrait (which was probably up in the attic somewhere), which was one of those photos you could never ever recreate. Her mother had sneezed as the camera had flashed, and the subsequent position she'd ended up with had actually improved the photo, making it appear as thought she was laughing; Jeremy had attempted to give Elena bunny ears but had tripped over his oversized jeans, meaning his arms – in a rather futile motion – had flung themselves around her neck, making it appear as though he was hugging her, although after the flash, she'd fallen to the ground due to a severe lack of balance. Their father had remained the only one who'd managed to keep a certain amount of dignity in the photo._

_"Elena…"_

_Elena suddenly froze, turning away from Memory Avenue as a familiar voice – one that still had the power to make her completely crumble with love, despite everything she'd found out after her parents had died. She saw her mother hovering by the door of the kitchen, looking a touch older than she remembered, the same constant laughter frozen in her eyes. _

_Trembling, Elena felt her knees shake and her heart burst, her entire thoughts consisting of how overjoyed she felt to see her mother there, wearing a smile as though she'd never been gone. She ran towards her, and threw her arms around her, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. _

_"Mom…" she sighed. "You're here…"_

_"Yes, I am," Miranda replied, leaning back so she could stare at her daughter. "How is it possible that in the short time I've been gone, you've grown and matured so much? Can this really be the same girl who threw a tantrum over the phone because she got a little lost?" Her smile widened. "Or the girl who once tore up her entire wardrobe because some girl at school wore the same outfit to school as you?"_

_"I'm so sorry..." Elena began, close to tears, desperate to apologize for being the reason they'd ended up on Wickery Bridge that night._

_"Don't be," Miranda said, stroking her face gently. "There's a lot we probably need to say to each other, yet never will." Her eyes brimmed over with tears. "I've missed you, Elena."_

_Elena smiled sadly at her, feeling tears spill down her cheek. _

_"Am I dead?" she asked, her voice constricted. _

_"No," Miranda replied honestly, rarely blinking in case one blink took her daughter away from her. "In fact, I doubt what's happening here is even real. But sometimes I think it's nice to be reminded that the people we love and lost are still very much with us."_

_Elena nodded, barely able to formulate a reply, so emotional was she at this strange, possibly imaginary, encounter with her mother. Everything felt so real, though, from the smell of her mother's perfume (a breathtaking blend between lavender and rosemary) to the faint smell of cookies hovering around the kitchen. It was a well known Gilbert tradition to bake when one of the family was upset, a tradition that seemed to have been dropped in lieu of other, less ideal ways of handling sorrow (for Jeremy, it'd been drugs; for Elena, it'd been hanging out in graveyards)._

_"Hold me," she whispered. "Please…"_

_Miranda didn't even hesitate; she wrapped her arms around the daughter she knew she was right to have claimed, was right to have cherished and loved with all her heart and kissed her daughter's head. _

_They stood there for a few minutes, Elena crying into her mother's shoulder like she was that little girl again, the one who showed one façade at school, and another at home; the one whose very worst fear was of being utterly forgotten by everyone she loved about, never even dreaming there were worse nightmares out there, lurking in the shadows._

_"I love you, Mom," she sobbed. "I don't care you didn't tell me I was adopted. I need you to come home. I need you to tell me what to do because…because I don't know what to do anymore."_

_"Oh, sweetie," Miranda sighed, pulling back so she could stare into her daughter's despairing eyes. "The one thing you've never needed is someone telling you what to do. You've always been headstrong. Stubborn, maybe, but that's something you get from your father." She chuckled. "When the time comes, you'll know exactly what the right thing to do is. Having hard choices to make just proves you're growing up. You're not a little girl anymore."_

_She kissed her head again, holding her tightly._

_"Remember when you went to your first school dance," she whispered in her ear, "and you fell into my arms, sobbing your heart out because nobody had asked you. It turned out every boy in the school wanted to ask you but they were just too shy too. Sometimes the easiest choice isn't always the right one."_

_Elena hesitated, another question burning on her tongue. But she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know the answer, because there was a very good chance this was all a dream, and all she would hear would be exactly what she wanted to hear, not the actual truth. So, she held onto her mother tightly, relishing the moment._

"Elena? Elena…it's me, Damon." He gently slapped her face. "Elena?"

"She's not going to answer you, Damon," Katherine said impatiently. "She's unconscious and possibly very, very ill."

Carefully, she and Damon managed to get Elena out of the water, the former one not particularly careful in how she handled her doppelganger. Once they were away from the river, they gently lowered her to the ground, Damon immediately biting his wrist to feed her his blood, a process which was immediately stopped by Katherine, who sharply grabbed his wrist.

"Don't," she commanded. "If you and Stefan are going to feed her blood every time she falls unconscious, I fear you may actually force her into vampire-hood simply by overfilling her with vampire blood." She sighed, and scowled. "This was _so_ not on my list of things to do."

"If I'd followed her here sooner, this wouldn't have happened," Damon said, anguished. "What if she dies?"

"She won't." Katherine sat next to Elena, searching her wrist for a pulse. "She has a pulse, although admittedly a faint one." She stared at Damon. "That was a nice touch, though; invading her dream and putting her mother into it. It suitably distracts her from going into shock and, if her heart does go out, I am _not_ giving her mouth to mouth. Doppelganger or no doppelganger." She adopted a haughty look. "Some things will just _never_ happen."

"You saved her life," Damon said, scrutinising Katherine carefully. "Why?"

"Because…" Katherine said emphatically. "I need her alive so that Klaus can sacrifice her so I can murder the bastard. If she dies any other way, she'll ruin the plan."

"You selfish little slut…"

"Sticks and stones, Damon," she said with relish. "Better you all die than me."

"That's an interesting philosophical stance," Damon grumbled. "Now, help me get her into the car before I suddenly decide to redecorate your lovely, ancient features with fire."

Katherine chuckled. "I _do_ like this Damon," she purred. "He knows how to handle the fire."

"Yes, and use it to destroy you," he retaliated. "Wait here…I think there's a blanket in the back of the car." He glared at her. "If I come back and she's in less than the perfect condition I left her in, I will tear your eyes out, then your lungs, and then your cold, dead, lifeless black heart."

She stared emotionlessly at him, but nodded briefly, waiting until he'd disappeared before she bit her own wrist and forced it to Elena's mouth. The girl gave a few pitiful swallows, before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

"Dead or alive, you're helping me screw with Klaus' plan," she muttered, a spasm of uncertainty crossing her face for the first time.

For the first time in a long time, she had no idea what was going to happen. Her show of confidence was just that…a show. Her arrogance had increased tenfold to hide the fact she was just as worried as the rest of Elena's pathetic friends and, of course, she knew Klaus was likely to be very interested in finding her and dishing out a cold spoonful of revenge. Scratch that – make that _two_ spoonfuls of revenge.

Damon was soon back and he carefully wrapped Elena up in the blanket, tenderness written across every inch of his face. Katherine looked at him, realizing she wished Stefan would look at her like that again.

"She'll be okay, Damon," she said flatly. "I've done my part. I wish I'd never decided to be out here in the first place."

"I wish you'd never come into my life," Damon snarled. "But, hey-ho, I guess we can't have everything we want."

And he walked away without looking back, although the desire to just kill her and be done with it was still hot in his blood.

* * *

Jeremy had been sitting for the best part of an hour, simply staring at the clock. Jenna was still missing and, although Alaric was tearing up the town trying to find her, he couldn't help but feel like she wasn't going to be found that easily. He tried to text Bonnie but she'd surprisingly she'd text him first.

_Heard about Jenna. Coming over now - B._

He heard the door and he flew to the door, smiling gently at her when she stood there, shuffling from foot to foot like an awkward teenager introducing themselves to their boyfriend's parents.

"Hey," he said gently.

"Hey," she echoed, smiling at him wistfully. "Listen, I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. It's just…Well, I've been so stressed lately, what with Klaus disappearing into thin air and people getting hurt." She stared at her hands, as the conversation turned even more awkward. "I like you, Jer… But part of the reason I've been avoiding you is because I can't do this – us – until I know Elena will be okay with it. Despite everything that's been going on, I owe her the decency to tell her that I like her brother."

"I guess that's fair…" Jeremy replied slowly. "I'm sorry if I've come on too strong. I really like you, Bonnie. More so than I ever thought I could."

"The feeling's mutual, I promise," she assured him. "Let's just…hold off until this is all over. Then we can go on that date you promised me."

She smiled shyly at him, and he grinned.

"Okay," he agreed. "I'll look forward to it."

"Stand back," Damon suddenly interrupted. "I'm sorry to kill the moment - actually I'm not - but I have to squeeze by."

Jeremy turned to glare at him but the hot words on his tongue died as soon as he saw what – or rather _who_ – Damon was holding in his arms. Elena's head lolled over one of Damon's arms, her face whiter than he'd ever seen it.

"What happened?" he asked, racing after Damon.

Damon hesitated, wondering if the truth would break the kid even further. He'd strangely come to like and respect Jeremy and had no desire to revisit the haunted kid he'd stumbled upon shortly after Anna's death.

"Her car went off Wickery Bridge," he admitted.

Jeremy closed his eyes, a spasm of pain flickering across his face only stifled by a small hand squeezing his. He looked across at Bonnie, who also appeared to be very white and frightened. That bridge was becoming a curse on his family, he realized grimly. How many more lives did that bridge – or, more specifically, the river – have to claim before it was satisfied?

"Will she - ? Is she - ?" Bonnie couldn't finish her sentence.

"She'll be fine," Damon assured her. "I don't know what made the car go off course, but I'm guessing something must've startled her."

Smothered by the memories, Jeremy dropped Bonnie's hand and fled. She attempted to go after him but Damon blocked her path.

"I wouldn't," he advised. "Believe me, when a Gilbert's upset, you let them be."

Bonnie looked as though she was going to object but, after a few moments, she deflated, looking like she'd endured too much to argue. He guided her over to the couch as he lay Elena on the floor so he could wrap her up tightly, her wet hair clinging to his skin, her entire body ice cold. He lit a fire and sat with her, her head against his chest, her arms stiffly by her side. It probably looked like he was cuddling a doll, not a human being. She was limp and cold and he had to wonder how far gone she'd been when Katherine had rescued her.

Bonnie sighed, burying her head inside her arms. She couldn't find the energy to speak, let alone do anything else. It seemed like everything was happening to Elena lately, and it was breaking her heart that every sign seemed to point down the road which suggested Elena wasn't going to be alive for much longer. Maybe, in some twisted way, fate was trying to keep her on her toes, remind her that people's lives were fragile, easily ended, and that some things are almost impossible to fight. Almost being the operative word.

She saw the way Damon treated Elena, how he was whispering something in her ear, how careful he was being with her, and she felt a surge of anger directed at Stefan. Where was he? Why wasn't he here, trying to make sure the girl he loved didn't _die_ on him? How much of a debacle was it that the one person she was sure was rotten and bad for Elena was the one person who was treating her with more love and devotion than anyone else seemed to be showing? She saw his lips press lightly against her cheek, as he rocked her gently in front of the fire, his hands rubbing her up and down as he tried to make sure he didn't allow the cold to fester.

Bonnie realized you saw a lot of things when your eyes were wide open. Closed, or even just half shut, you missed a lot of stuff which, in the long run, could turn out to be of critical importance. She saw the tenderness in Damon which, ideally, should've been there from the start. Reserved only for Elena, he seemed to display this sense of love and care she was pleasantly surprised to witness for herself. If anyone had told her Damon could display this kind of devotion, she would've denounced them as crazy and left it at that.

"Is she in pain?" she eventually asked, her voice numb.

"No," Damon said, keeping his voice low. "Whether she pulls through or not is something we'll have to wait and see. I'm not damning her to this life. I won't. I can't. I swore to myself the moment I realized how I…" his voice noticeably tightened, "how I…felt, I realized the one thing I could do, the one thing I had any right to do, was make sure she never experience this kind of life. Elena is so good, so kind, that I think being a vampire would kill her." He let out a low, humourless chuckle. "No pun intended."

"Why don't you let your walls down more often, Damon?" Bonnie asked, leaning forward, her eyes shining with sincerity. "Because this Damon right here is just like the rest of us."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked her, scrutinising her face for the slightest trace of a hint as to what she meant.

"You're human," she said simply. "Emotionally, anyway."

"And that's good how?" Damon asked numbly. "All of your lives are miserable. You die really soon…" His voice cracked. "You _feel_ even when you don't want to feel. Tell me – what's so great about being human when you're so _vulnerable?_"

Bonnie had already thought about that. It was a question she'd asked herself many times, back during the darkest moments of her life when she'd interrogated herself for a satisfying answer as to why did being human mean you could hurt so damn much.

"Yeah, we're imperfect," she replied softly. "We make mistakes and we are filled with sin. We are fragile, and vulnerable, and feel every little emotion we wish we could shut off. But we _love_ too, Damon." Her voice broke a little. "Grams once told me that love is the very best and worst of human experience. We kill for it, we die for it, and sometimes when we have it we abuse it. But it's still what keeps us going most of the time."

Damon nested his head on Elena's, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. He could feel her breathing – each breath like a song to him – and he wondered what she was thinking now, what she was dreaming about.

"So, what do we do now?" Bonnie asked, going over to Damon so she could take Elena's hand. "I can do a spell to heal the pain…if she's even in any."

"No," Damon said firmly. "She's going to pull through, I know it."

Neither of them dared themselves to think about the question they both were dying to ask.

_What if she didn't?_

Stefan suddenly burst through the door, clad in his Sunday best, his face white as he stormed towards Elena, a thousand questions bursting through his mind. He was shortly followed by an even more dressed up Caroline.

"Where the hell have you been?" Damon snarled, not daring to move in case he somehow knocked Elena off.

"At the dance," Caroline snarled back. "Why, were we supposed to wait around here and just _wait_ for doom to fall on all of us?"

"It might've helped!"

"Guys, shut it!" Bonnie yelled. She glared at them all. "Fighting isn't going to help! We're at war with the Originals – let's not be at war with each other."

"Jeremy sent me a message telling me what happened," Stefan croaked, looking devastated. "Is she…?"

"She's alive," Damon said coolly. "No thanks to you."

"Damon!" Bonnie complained.

"Bonnie!" he quipped, in a mocking tone of voice.

Caroline was near Elena's head, her face twisted with raw, genuine fear. This was Caroline Forbes stripped to the bone. Take away her vampirism, her seemingly flawless façade, and you had a frightened girl who knew next to nothing about the world.

"Where was she coming from anyway?" Stefan asked Damon. "She was supposed to be here."

"She decided to make a fly for freedom," Damon replied, his eyes as cold as ice as he appraised his brother. "I went to go and fetch her. We had an argument and she stormed off." A flash of guilt appeared in his eyes. "I wasn't the one who found her… Katherine did."

"Katherine?" Bonnie and Caroline said simultaneously.

"This doesn't change anything, Damon," Stefan warned his brother. "She may have saved Elena, but that doesn't change the fact she still wants her dead."

"I know," Damon said, his voice hollow. "But she did a damn sight more than you did tonight. And trust your main priority to be warning me against Katherine rather than making sure Elena will be okay."

Stefan, rather than picking a fight (as he'd hoped for), deflated.

"I know," he said, sounding hollow himself. "I've been such a dick, it's unbelievable. I feel like I'm losing her forever. And it doesn't matter what I say, because I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle."

Damon's face visibly softened. "I know, brother. But all we can do is fight. You know…" He hesitated, as though about to divulge some dark secret. "Before I left that night, I asked Lexie to help you. I hated you. But I wanted you to get help."

Stefan looked stunned by that revelation but, before he could question Damon over it, there was a knock at the door.

"Is anyone going to get that?" Caroline asked, when no one seemed to move.

With a heavy sigh, she rose to her feet and sped over to the door, opening it with low expectations. To her surprise, Matt stood there, his expression contorted with rage, his fists clenched by his sides. His expression softened a little as he looked at her, but the rage never left his eyes.

"Matt?" Caroline gasped. "What are you doing here?"

She reached out – she had no idea why – and he flinched, stepping back with alarm and fear. Looking pained, she wanted to question him as to why he'd reacted to her presence like that…but, really, there was only one explanation.

"Stay away," he warned her. "I know what you are."

"What… What do you mean?" she asked, lamely trying to deflect his question.

"Don't lie!" he roared. "I know what you are, Caroline. I know what Stefan and Damon are too so – so just let me inside!"

"Why?" she asked, folding her arms, refusing to let him inside. "Let's talk about this…"

Matt let out an indiscernible noise of pain and turned away for the moment, his arm raised above his head, although it wasn't really going to do him much good. Caroline felt whatever was left of her heart shatter into millions of pieces. This was not how she'd pictured their reunion _at all._

"I've lost Elena," he croaked. "And I've lost Vicki. People have been lying to me and I'm sick of it, Car. I know you're a vampire. I want answers you can't give me." He cleared his throat. "I want to talk to Damon."

"You're not thinking straight, Matt," she pleaded. "Please…don't do anything hasty. A lot has changed since Vicki…and how did you know about what I am?"

"Elena's diary," Matt admitted, every syllable practically being forced out of his mouth, each encased in bitterness. "Jenna rang and asked if I could move some of Elena's stuff. I remembered where she keeps her diary and I was…curious."

"You read a dead girl's journal?" Caroline questioned him.

"Don't talk to me about morality!" Matt roared. "Let me inside!"

"Easy, chum," Damon said, nodding at Caroline to leave. "It's me you want."

Matt seemed to have lost most of his fighting talk. He stared at Damon, completely terrified, and swallowed loudly, his eyes flicking to Caroline, who looked utterly miserable.

"You turned Vicki," he began, licking his lips. "Why?"

"Boredom," Damon said bluntly. "Probably not my smartest move, seeing how that girl was about as suited to vampire life as a mouse."

"Why did you do that?" Matt roared, pushing Damon futilely. "Why? You destroyed my _family._ You killed her. I know it was Stefan who killed her but you ultimately were the one who executed her."

"I know," Damon said quietly. "I regret it, Matt, I do. But trying to convince you that I've suddenly gone good is not on my list of things to do. If you're bitching and moaning about being left out of the magic circle, then come inside. 'Cause I've got news which is gonna rock your world."

He gestured for the confused and heartbroken jock to come inside, which he only did so after Caroline had given him a reassuring smile (one that was tinged with a thousand different degrees of sadness). He walked inside, his fists shoved into his pockets, and followed Damon down the corridor and into the lounge, his eyes taking in everyone's expressions. Stefan looked apologetic, even ashamed; Bonnie looked faintly surprised (and ashamed).

"Hey, Matt," Bonnie spoke first, stepping forward. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way."

"Whatever." He wasn't as harsh with her, though her betrayal probably stung the most. "I don't need to hear this crap, Bonnie. I don't want to hear some clichéd line about how you were trying to protect me." He shook his head. "I can handle the truth, no matter how crazy it is. I just need people to be honest."

His eyes scoured over to the room, to the figure who was curled up in Stefan's arms, someone who looked familiar… A gasp suddenly escaped his lips as he recognized the figure.

"Is that Elena?" he demanded.

"Yep," Damon replied, staring at him. "There's a whole chapter Elena hasn't had chance to write in her diary. So we will fill you in. We're not asking you to trust us, but we would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself." His eyes narrowed. "That wasn't so much a suggestion as it was an order."

"How is she alive?" Matt asked weakly. "I went to her _funeral_."

Caroline stepped forward, only to step back when Matt flinched. She sighed, pushing away a stray hair.

"We'll tell you everything, Matt," she said firmly. "And you can push me away afterwards, if that's what you want. But there'll be a lot of awkward questions if any of this gets out. I know it's a lot to ask but please…if you love me, you'll do this for me."

There was a moment where Matt saw nothing but Caroline. He saw that she was a lot stronger now, a lot less needy, and he hated to say it but he almost _liked_ her this way. But that didn't mean that magically erased what she'd done.

"You tell me what's going on," he said, in a counter offer, "and I'll think about it."

She closed her eyes, tears pushing their way to the surface of her eyes, but nodded, understanding it was only fair he got the answers he required.

* * *

It was close to midnight. Katherine lurked on Wickery Bridge, staring into the water, unable to believe what had actually just happened that night. Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it, deciding John could wait until later.

"Hello, Katerina," a familiar voice purred.

She turned around and gave a half smile.

"Well, hey, yourself," she said, smirking. "You don't look bad for your age."

Her visitor smiled. "Why, thank you, Katerina. I could say the same for you, except you look a little less…fierce. Why the pensive look? I didn't peg you as a thinker."

Katherine smirked. "Charming," she grumbled, good-naturedly. "I graciously invite you into my former home and get nothing but insults."

"You know it."

"Don't I just…" Katherine sighed. "I've done something tonight I never thought possible. I showed compassion towards someone I despise."

Her visitor tilted her head to one side, stepping forwards and looking faintly surprised. Her voice carried all the ravages of time and age, yet she still managed to retain her beauty, a process echoed by Katherine, something she despised the girl for. It may have been petty, but she had hoped Katherine would've looked rather less pretty, just to make herself – the older one of the two – feel microscopically better.

"Would this be Elena Gilbert by any chance?" she asked slyly. "Oh, I've heard down the grapevine she's the new Petrova doppelganger. How thrilling. I can't wait to meet her."

"You're not meeting her," Katherine snapped. She sighed. "I love Stefan, and it seems the only way to win his affection back is to protect his girlfriend." She pulled a face. "So, I struck a deal with John. I would protect his precious daughter if he could find you out and get you to Mystic Falls." She smirked. "I've longed to see you for myself, just to see if you were still around."

"Here I am," her visitor said, smiling. "But if you've lured me here just to replace her with me during the sacrifice ritual, you're tragically wrong."

She suddenly struck out at Katherine, who reeled backwards, clutching her bleeding neck which, for some reason, was refusing to heal. Then, she took a good long hard look at the knife. It was silver – nothing unusual about that – except she saw a familiar crest engraved onto the hilt of it.

"The Petrova dagger," she gasped. "I thought that was lost."

"Lost?" her visitor sneered. "No…I've kept it safely under lock and key for over three centuries." She twirled it around in her fingers. "Made by a Petrova, you know. My father, as a matter of fact, was the one who made it. As soon as he realized what I was destined to be – nothing more than a pawn in Klaus's absurd plan for vampire domination – he made it for me. Kills ninety nine point nine percent of all vampires." She winked. "I've hidden myself away from Klaus for a lot longer than that, so don't try and pretend you know more about hiding and running than me, even though he _technically_ doesn't know about me." With a flourish, she removed her cloak. "As the original Petrova, the one whose blood was used to bind the curse, I think you ought to pay me a little respect." Her face twisted. "And don't try and lure me here under false pretences. I practically invented the art of manipulation we Petrovas are famous for."

Katherine barely heard her; the effect of the knife meant she was essentially bleeding to death. The irony of her soon-to-be death would never stop haunting her. She'd never wanted to laugh so hard at something which was completely unfunny. Her neck burned, but from the thirst. She felt a sting of something which felt quite unfamiliar to her. It was betrayal.

"How could you do this to _me?_" she whispered, tears springing to her eyes.

"Because there's only Petrova bitch, and that's me," her visitor told her. "I am Capricia Petrova." She smiled wickedly. "Call me, Cat, though. I hear it's a nickname you donned for a while, am I right?"

"Traitor!" Katherine spat, with all the strength she could muster. "The Petrova line is sacred. My mama would turn in her grave if she knew what monsters it spawned."

"And you're what, a Saint?" Cat looked bored. "I'm here not because your precious John summoned me. I'm here because I'm going to stop Klaus myself."

"Why kill me?" Katherine snarled, feeling faint.

"Well, two doppelgangers running around is bad enough," Cat explained. "But _three?_ Can you imagine the madness?" She laughed. "Oh, I can!" Her face hardened. "No. Your death will serve a purpose. I want there to only be one of me running around. Elena will die…one way or another. Tonight was just practice. Seems my art of terrorising people is a little bit rusty."

Katherine glared at her, and opened her mouth to let the bitch have it. A strange sensation gripped her, however, and it was a while before she could place it as being death. Cold hands wrapped themselves around her and her face hardened, a last, slow, remorseful tear sliding down her now stony face. Cat looked at her like a cat looks at a mouse it's just killed, nudging her with one foot before sighing, realizing she was going to have to store the body somewhere.

Still, she had to thank Katherine for giving her life some sorely needed entertainment. Nobody knew she was dead, so now she could pretend to be Katherine and have some more fun.

She tucked the dagger into its sheath and glared at the night sky, haunted by the absence of the moon. She remembered that night her blood had been spilled, her young, frightened alter ego still imprinted in her mind. A faceless name had stolen her innocence on so many levels, had killed her (or thought he had) and used her blood to control the two darkest forces nature had accidentally spawned. In relaliation, it'd seemed her wonderful father – who, oddly, had been in favour of vampires - had slipped her blood, so that hours after the curse had been bound, she'd awoken, the sun barely minutes away from rising.

All that kept her alive was the moonstone. Her blood – her fate – was tied to the moonstone. Should it be destroyed, as Klaus intended, her life would end and, in a double twist, so would all the Petrovas who shared her blood.

She was sacrificing Elena early which, if you thought about it, was unusually merciful. _Better die for a noble cause, then just a tragic accident,_ she thought, her lips curling with contempt.

And that was the only even vaguely nice thought she'd had about her (now) only doppelganger.

* * *

**A/n: Ta-da! I had to kill someone off and it was Katherine, unfortunately. I love her character but I couldn't really imagine her skipping off into the sunset at the end of this fic and I love the idea that the original Petrova – who Katherine and Elena are both modelled on – could come back. I imagine, in reality, she's dead but I gave her life for this fic. It gives the story the edge back, which I lost somewhere amongst the Damon/Elena fluff lol! :P Hope you enjoy Cat and the new mischief she'll create! Thank you all for reviewing and sharing your thoughts! Next chapter will see a tender Stefan/Elena moment – don't expect a reunion – and a familiar character emerges again. **

**Oh and Rose's disappearance will be explained. Bye for now! :D**


	21. Dark Days Are Here Again

_Chapter 21: Dark Days Are Here Again_

* * *

Her eyes strained against the dim light; every breath felt like it had been trapped inside her for years, meaning the resultant burst of release was like fresh air to a miner, or a diver who'd been underwater for an exceptional period of time. Every part of her ached, like a dull bruise, and there was an unexplainable weight on her heart she couldn't quite figure out.

She saw the glow of a fire, which seemed to turn into two before her eyes. Her head felt like it was pounding, and it took her a few moments to dispel the theory that it was a bad hangover, and that she'd survived yet another a car crash. Yet this time, the aftermath of it was a lot more damaging; merely surviving wasn't going to help her recovery this time.

Elena sat up weakly, pressing her skin in odd places, wincing when she found the bruises. Vampire blood healed cuts and broken bones, sure, but there was always a mark, reminding you of the poison which had been inside. She held herself tightly as she stared into the fire, wondering when this misery would consume her entirely. Her life felt like it was poised on the edge of a knife; whether she stayed or dropped, she just wanted some sort of resolution.

"You're awake," a soft voice said.

She didn't turn. Seeing Stefan would only make the metaphorical stab wound of her life hurt that much more. There was no running away from what she was doing, what her life had become.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked, her voice detached, lifeless.

"Damon's searching for John and Isobel," Stefan said gently, sitting down next to her. "Bonnie has gone home for the night and so has Jeremy. Jenna's back in your house. " _Having, mercifully, been found, _he silently added. "She couldn't impose on Ric anymore, not to mention they had a big fight."

Elena absorbed the news but couldn't summon up the energy to react. She couldn't even cry. It felt like every emotion had been physically drained out of her, leaving her this broken shell of a girl. She didn't want to feel this way but that car crash had brought up a lot of issues she'd thought she'd managed to move past. The fact that she'd, yet again, survived the same type of accident her parents hadn't brought up some unresolved emotions she knew would stay with her forever. It had been her fault they'd been there that night, she'd accepted that. What she couldn't accept was how she'd managed to get lucky twice and they hadn't once.

"Elena…talk to me," Stefan pleaded, wrapping an arm around her. "If you can't, at least let me go get Damon…"

"No, don't," she said, panicking a little. "I can't…I can't look at him right now. It's too painful."

"What's too painful?" Stefan asked gently.

"Everything," she admitted, staring at him. "It feels like every time I even move, I'm hurting someone. I'm hurting you because of the way I feel for Damon. I'm hurting Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline because I'm apparently giving up when that's not what I'm doing. I'm hurting my parents because of every bad decision I've ever made." She rubbed her hands along Stefan's shoulders. "Including you, Stefan." She sighed. "You were both a bad decision and the best decision I'd ever made. With Damon…there's something there, always has been, but until I figure all of this out, everything kind of just blurs into this one big ball of confusion."

He stroked her hair softly, wishing he didn't have to watch her suffer like this. He was losing her every day and he felt like fighting for her wasn't going to cut it anymore. She wanted something more, some kind of definitive proof that the world wasn't going to dissolve every time she made a bad decision. He didn't know how to convince her of that.

Her head fell against his chest and, before she knew it, they resembled a couple again. Except there was this great big wedge between them invisible to the naked eye. There was so much about the two of them that would never work. Stefan loved her unconditionally, which didn't sound like a problem in itself except the fact there were times he scarcely let her breathe, let her fly. He was convinced if he let her go, she would fall, and she didn't really have the heart to remind him life was all about people taking risks and trying to fly. Some made it, some didn't; that was the way of the world.

"Remember when we used to have fun?" Elena mused, still staring at the fire, envious of how simple the flames seemed to have it. Their one job was to warm and that was it. "I can't remember the last time we had fun."

There was a distinct emphasis on the _we_ part which Stefan found it hard to ignore. The truth was they had their moments of fun…just not with each other. He blinked back tears, realizing there was a certain goodbye lingering in the air between them. It wasn't the sort of goodbye which suggested physical separation, but rather the premise of a goodbye which only applies to the separation of two people very much in love, but with the understanding that things could so easily change.

"I love you, Stefan," Elena said softly, avoiding his eyes. "I wish it was enough to stay with you."

"You don't have to say anything, Elena," he told her. "Don't make this a goodbye. We'll just…sit here for a while. Forget the world."

"Can you really do that?"

"No…But I have to try," he told her sadly. "I fell in love with this gorgeous girl. We had an amazing time together. It was epic….

"…Then the sun came up and reality set in," Elena finished for him, remembering the speech which had bound them together. She closed her eyes, squeezing back tears. "God, why does this have to be so hard?"

"I know," Stefan murmured into her hair. "I guess we always knew this day would come, deep down."

"Hold me," she asked, and he complied.

He wrapped his arms around her and she shuffled backwards, so that she neatly slot in between his legs. He propped his head on hers and snaked his arms around her waist, keeping her locked towards him, hiding the tears which were crawling down his cheeks. In reality, this was not their ending. Their ending consisted of riding off into the sunset, their arms looped together, their hearts entwined forever.

* * *

Damon was halfway through his search of the woods when he ran into a familiar face - Katherine. She stood coyly in front of him, her hands on her hips, biting her lip almost seductively.

"And where have you been?" he demanded.

"Why? Did you miss me?" Cat, as Katherine, asked, with a pout.

"Don't do this, Katherine," he spat. "This little act of yours is not something I'm going to fall for again. Now where are John and Isobel, your little accomplices?"

"I object to the term 'little'," John's strong voice said, as the man himself came strolling into view, Isobel sauntering along beside him.

"Oh, look…it's the Addams Family," Damon taunted. "Now, you've all managed to resurface again, can you tell me where the hell you've all been?"

Isobel smiled coyly, her dark eyes conveying nothing but coldness. Nothing had changed on that front, although Damon thought he saw a flash - which only lasted a second or so - of the impulsive, yet vulnerable, girl who'd begged him to turn her.

"We've been searching for a witches' burial ground," she replied. "Since we're on the same side, we'll tell you that much."

"The witches' burial ground?" Damon frowned. "Why?"

"Witches who go there can draw extra power from it," John explained. "There's a sort of legend that when the witches were burned alive, all their powers had to go somewhere, so they lingered around the spot where they died. As soon as I heard about it, I knew it was going to be of critical importance we find it because you can bet your ass Klaus will want to find it too."

"Again…why?"

"Because there's a certain spell that needs to be cast in order for the sacrifice ritual to be complete," John told him impatiently. "Like any spell, it can be done anywhere, but Klaus is going to pull out all the stops to ensure this ritual will be completed."

Damon frowned, not liking the fact that everyone here knew more about this burial ground than he did. He made a mental note to do some research later. His eyes fell on to his former lover, who seemed to be looking him up and down with appreciative eyes. He restrained the urge to roll his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Can't we just find him and kill him already?" he complained. "I'm so sick of waiting around for him to come find us."

"You're the one with the witch," Isobel taunted. "Why don't you use her instead of moaning at us?"

"You could be a little nicer, you know," Damon said flippantly, "considering I turned you and made you what you are."

She shrugged, unconcerned, which made the itch to kill her that much stronger.

"What is your input in all of this?" he demanded, turning towards who he thought was Katherine.

Cat smiled coyly. "You know my thoughts on this already, Damon," she purred, sauntering over him, pressing a hand against his chest. "I don't particularly care about the fate of Elena - you know that. Let's face it, that girl is a walking time bomb which, sooner or later, will end up being detonated." She mimicked a bomb exploding. "And that'll be the end of her."

"Katherine…" John warned her. "That's not the attitude to have. We're all on the same side here. We want Klaus dead.

"And you want me dead!" Damon snarled. "How are we on the same side, John? Please…enlighten me!" He scoffed. "You pretend to care about your daughter, but you really don't give a damn. If you did, you would've saved her when her car - well, MY car - went off Wickery Bridge."

John's eyes closed; Isobel didn't react at all, as was to be expected.

"So?" Cat continued to caress Damon's body, even though he was clearly uncomfortable with. _God, he's so hot, _she mused to herself. "Like I said, she's not going to last much longer…."

Damon, having had enough of the goading, suddenly turned and attempted to press Cat against the wall. Enjoying the fire, she grabbed his hair and flung him away, pouncing on him like a tiger, her hands all over his body.

"You can't take me," she breathed. "I'm older, faster, stronger… " She smirked at him. "Now, what shall we do?"

"Can we not do this now?" John interrupted, sounding fed up. "Look, we need to agree to disagree on something because, frankly, bickering about what we have or haven't done to each other is a waste of time. "

Fluently, Damon rose to his feet, giving Cat a look of disgust. She smiled to herself, realizing it was so easy to be Katherine. Although, she reluctantly conceded, if a charade was easy to pull off, it meant you probably shared similar traits and mannerisms to the person you were impersonating. Katherine definitely had that fire, that sense of self-preservation she had. It would be interesting to see if Elena carried it too. She eyed Damon with relish, knowing exactly why Katherine couldn't resist toying with both Salvatores, and, although she had yet to meet Stefan properly, she couldn't imagine why Katherine hadn't stuck with this bad boy.

"So, what do you want from me? Help?" Damon asked, irritated by everything and everyone currently around him.

"We want you to look for it, yes," Isobel conceded. "We have this lead we need to follow up on about a dagger that was made centuries ago. It's called the Petrova dagger. Have you heard of it?"

"Vaguely…" Damon admitted. "I may have came across it whilst reading something. Why? Is the one dagger not enough for you?" He smirked.

"The Petrova dagger was made with the blood of the original doppelganger. The one who Elena and Katherine look like," Isobel explained. "It is essential the dagger remains in safe hands. We need to find out whereabouts it is."

"How do you know it hasn't been destroyed or something?" Damon asked, narrowing his eyes. "There's something you're not telling me."

John and Isobel exchanged a look, clearly weighing up in their minds the pros and cons of telling him all of this. Then, resignedly, they seemed to confirm between each other telling him would be the safer option.

"We'd know if it'd been destroyed, because Elena would be dead," Isobel said, her tone one of indifference. "If the Petrova dagger is destroyed, so is the bloodline. It was made with a powerful spell that cannot be undone, sealed by both the blood of the original doppelganger and the love of a desperate, desperate man."

"A desperate man who wanted to protect his family," Cat added. "As long as the dagger survived, there would always be a bloodline."

Isobel turned to Cat with suspicious eyes.

"I thought you were uninterested, unaware of anything that happened beyond your own family," she accused. "I seem to remember a conversation we had where you told me other than the Originals, you weren't interested in learning about anything else from the past."

"I lied," Cat told her lightly. "My dear, sweet Isobel…. You're as naïve as the rest of them. You don't trust a vampire."

"She has a point," Damon agreed. "Much as I loathe to agree with the spawn of Satan," he added spitefully.

"Ouch… Someone clearly doesn't play nice," Cat pouted.

"Are we done?" Isobel asked John impatiently. "I'm tired of the bickering, frankly, and I could do with a hunt."

John gave her a withering look, which made Damon smirk. Clearly, despite his alliance with Isobel, it was abundantly clear that he'd gained no progress at being comfortable around vampires. It seemed a tiger never changed his stripes.

"This dagger…" he said, looking uncomfortable. "If it gets destroyed…"

"The entire bloodline will be wiped out," Isobel told him. "Anyone living - or otherwise - who carries the blood of the Petrova line will die."

"Why make a dagger to protect a bloodline if its destruction will end it?" Damon wondered aloud. "Sounds monumentally stupid, if you ask me."

Isobel, for the first time, looked as if she didn't know the answer. She looked uncertainly at John, who merely shrugged. Cat rolled her eyes, before taking the limelight.

"The father of the doppelganger had an alliance with a witch, which was how the spell came to be made," she informed them. "They had a good, strong truce, a friendship you might say, but when the time came to honour that alliance…Well, let's just say the father double crossed the witch who'd helped him protect his family's bloodline, resulting in said witch - with the aid of a shaman, I might add - putting a curse on the dagger. The change was noted only in one Grimoire, which was passed down, I believe, to the Bennetts."

"Bonnie?" Damon was surprised. "Bonnie is related to the witch who put a curse on the dagger which, if destroyed, will kill her best friend? Well, I'm sure she'll love that…" He scratched his head. "How come she's never said anything about the Petrova dagger before it's supposedly in there?"

Cat shrugged. "From what I know of the little witch, she's hardly an enthusiastic witch, so I imagine she's probably only read what she needs to read. I'm sure she'll stumble upon it soon enough."

Damon glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly as though picking up on something no one else had spotted. He glanced at John and Isobel, who both, without so much as a farewell, were walking off.

"What are you doing then?" he asked, turning around reluctantly to face her, though everything about her made him want kill her.

"You have an extra room, right?" Cat said coyly. "I could stay with you. We could figure out this mystery together."

She rubbed his shoulder, which he immediately pulled out from under her hand.

"Sorry," he told her coldly. "No room at the inn."

"Not even a stable?" she asked, inching closer and closer, until their bodies were only inches apart.

"Even if I had an inch of a stable, I wouldn't give it to you," Damon replied coolly. "You've not particularly done anything to earn your keep."

"I saved your girlfriend!" Cat exclaimed. "Does that not count for anything?"

"It's only real if it comes out of your desire to do something for nothing in return," Damon quipped, quoting Stefan, of all people. "You, my selfish friend, have about as much good in your system as Elena has evil."

"Hence why you fell for her," Cat said, looking downcast, secretly relishing in how well her charade was being received.

Damon took her off guard suddenly, slamming her against her tree, his fangs bared, the veins around his eyes all standing to attention like little soldiers along the edge of the trenches.

"Don't do this, Katherine," he snarled. "You told me it was always Stefan. Fine. Big deal. You told me you never loved me. Again, fine. Big deal. But if you try these little games again, and have these flirty little banter sessions, I will rip you to bits. This love triangle is over, Katherine. Stop trying to persist in making my life hell, because, baby, I'm already there and…" he lowered his voice to a whisper, " guess what? You're in hell too. Practically own the place."

"I own the fire," she purred, leaning in, wondering what his lips tasted like. She'd had men before - in their thousands - but she'd never been this physically attracted to someone before.

Damon felt the familiar, age old ache throb inside him. He could just kiss her now, lose himself forever, and to hell with the consequences. He was so close to being his human self again and he didn't want that. He didn't want the pain that came with being that human. It was so easy to just forget all that, forget everything, and just lose himself in Katherine again.

It was so easy…. But the cost of doing so would destroy him.

He pushed her aside roughly.

"If you own the fire, go burn in it," he told her, before storming off into the darkness, remembering where his loyalties really lay, feeling momentarily guilty for his almost lapse of common sense.

* * *

Elena was sitting on the couch when Damon arrived. From his flustered expression, she took it he wasn't having a great evening either. His eyes fell to hers and she swore right there and then the smile that crossed his face then made her feel so loved, so appreciated, that she fell that little bit harder for him.

"Hey, look who's awake," he teased, coming to sit next to her. "I've been worried sick…"

"Have you?" Elena was moved.

"Nah…" Damon chuckled. "Knew you'd be fine, kid."

"Stop calling me kid," Elena said, shoving him playfully. "I'm practically a woman."

Damon looked her up and down, the merest hint of a leer in his gaze.

"Hm…" he murmured. "That you are."

"Pervert," Elena muttered darkly. Then, after a moment, she added, "You okay?"

"Other than having had a frustrating evening in the company of three devils, I'm just peachy," Damon said, staring at her. "I could ask you the same question."

He reached over and touched her face gently. She would've protested, but she suspected people were not going to let her be until they were sure she was okay. And, for a vampire, his touch was surprisingly soft.

"I'm fine…mostly," she admitted. "Except… I broke up with Stefan. Again. And this time Katherine wasn't sticking the proverbial knife in my back. This was all me."

She sighed, feeling incredibly guilty at how easy it had been to just break Stefan's heart. He was just too good to her. She knew she couldn't be with anyone until she'd managed to resolve the last of her feelings for him. She hoped Damon could read into that and not try to push her.

"I may need to chat with Bonnie at some point," Damon said, frowning. He glanced at Elena. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"Sure," Elena replied, looking puzzled.

"I went to find Isobel and John tonight," he told her, chewing on his lip as he contemplated something. "Katherine was there only…"

"Only what?"

"Is it crazy to think that the Katherine I spoke to tonight wasn't actually her?" he asked her sincerely. "Because there's a certain je ne sais quoi about Katherine I'd know anywhere. I didn't get that vibe from her tonight."

"If it wasn't Katherine, who else could it be? It wasn't me," Elena said slowly. "You'd know if it was me."

"I'm wondering if the original doppelganger has made an appearance in our humble town," Damon murmured, staring with troubled eyes at an equally troubled looking Elena.

"Could she really still be alive?" Elena demanded. "And - And if so, what would bring her here?"

"Klaus, presumably," Damon guessed. "Or you."

"Me?" Elena was astonished. "Why?"

"Curiosity, perhaps. I don't know. I just know she wasn't Katherine. She couldn't keep her hands off of me for a start."

"What?" Elena felt a surge of jealous surge through her again. "Why - Why do you think she was like that?"

"Because I'm a stud," Damon said, in a tone that clearly translated as meaning _duh!_ "How do I manage to attract all three doppelgangers?"

"Who says I'm attracted to you?" Elena said immediately.

Damon smirked.

"Oh, I know how to test that theory," he said casually. "First, if I do this…" he cupped her face in his hands "and then this…." he stared at her in the eyes, causing her to smile a little "and then I'd finish with a kiss, but I, understanding you've had a distressful evening, will withhold," he finished.

She smiled. "You're sweet, Damon. Thank you."

"I imagine you'll want to sleep off the day?" he guessed. "You can take my bed, if you want. I don't imagine I'll be sleeping tonight."

He had a lot to chew on, a lot to think about and digest. It was better Elena didn't know some of the finer details of what he'd learned tonight. Not until she'd rested and recovered, anyway.

"I guess I could go sleep," Elena agreed, yawning loudly. "My head hurts and I just want to forget about tonight."

She ducked and kissed Damon's cheek, giving him a soft smile as she left the room, leaving him nothing better to do but watch her walk away, his fingers hovering around the place on his cheek where her lips had been, a slightly giddy, almost schoolboy smile.

He barely saw Rose flitter in until she blurred in and sat next to him.

"Where have you been?" he asked, slightly angry. "Could've done with your help today."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, sounding like she'd been crying.

Damon frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, with a brave attempt at a smile. "I've just had a bad day."

"Same," Damon echoed. "Let's have a drink to celebrate our identical awful days."

"Sounds good," Rose agreed.

He poured them both a drink.

"Wanna tell me why you've been AWOL?" he asked, turning to look at her, hoping for some sign or clue to crop up on her face. "You can talk to me, we're … friends now and working towards a common goal." He frowned. "Boy, I'm just a goldmine of past quotations tonight."

She sighed and reached for the glass he handed her. After downing it down, she looked solemnly up at him, her eyes dark with pain.

"I went back to the house to bury Trevor," she confessed, running her finger around the rim of her glass. "Couldn't leave him like that…"

"Ah…" Damon didn't know what to say to that. "I can't imagine what that must be like, burying your oldest friend."

"It's no picnic," Rose sniffed, smiling weakly up at him. "But it's done." She sighed. "I heard about what happened to Elena. I am so sorry…

"Don't worry about it," he replied soothingly. "She's alright and that's all that matters."

"Do you mind if I go up and see her?" she asked, looking at him. "I just want to apologize to her."

"Sure," Damon said, sounding confused. "I don't think she'll be awake but you can try…"

"Don't worry," Rose said, giving him the briefest of smiles. "I won't be too long. I won't keep her up."

"I'm going out to see if I can salvage my car anyway," Damon informed her. "We'll talk some more when I get back."

There was a hint of something in Rose's eyes he couldn't quite understand. It looked like she was trying to tell him something, maybe communicate some extra message her body wasn't revealing. Unable to decipher her, he shrugged and then promptly exited.

Rose, with a despairing sigh, blurred up the stairs and listened out for Elena's movements to decipher what room she was in. She turned and, marching like a mindless zombie, she made her way into Damon's bedroom.

"Hey, Rose, you startled me," Elena said, from Damon's bathroom.

She was in her pajamas - retrieved from her house by Jeremy - and was in the middle of cleaning her teeth.

"Hey, Elena," Rose said, smiling at her tightly.

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"Can I, er, help you?" Elena asked, looking confused. "I'm tired…."

"Of course," Rose said quickly. "I just need to…" She started to cry weakly. "I am so sorry, Elena. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Elena asked, looking wary.

Rose sped over to her and with a quick movement had rendered her unconscious. Closing her eyes to restrain the tears, she lifted the girl in her arms and sped out of the door and into the night.

* * *

**A/n: OOOH! What's happened here? Why has Rose taken Elena? Where has she taken her? Included a bit of mythology here, which will eventually tie into the main plot. We'll learn a bit more about Klaus' background soon and the big BIG showdown will take place soon. This story won't last many chapters more but this story does have a sequel so fear not! Thank you all for reviewing! You guys are amazing! Nearly 200 reviews! :DD my best ever! **


	22. And the Plot Thickens

_Chapter 22: And the Plot Thickens_

* * *

She immediately knew before opening her eyes she wasn't in the Boarding House anymore. As Elena pushed herself up into a sitting position, she stubbornly tried to pretend to herself that maybe she was back home instead. The soft, Egyptian cotton sheets underneath her certainly felt the same. She wasn't that naïve, however.

The throbbing pain in her head reminded her of just what had happened. And she felt a cold sense of betrayal - again - as she remembered what Rose had done to her. That cold sense lingered inside her mind for a moment before she remembered the devastated look on Rose's face, as if she was under somebody's control, therefore not completely of sound mind and presence. Which meant someone she cared about had been threatened; compulsion didn't work on vampires…unless there was some new bizarre twist to the plot she'd not been notified on.

Unintentionally insensitively, Elena had to wonder who on earth had been threatened for Rose co-operate, considering she had no one left in the world. Damon? As far as she knew, they were barely even friends, barely anything really. Still, she knew Rose wouldn't have done that to her again. Not when there was absolutely nothing in it for her anymore. Elena sometimes wondered at the blind faith she had in people. Maybe it was because of Damon. Damon trusted her - sort of - and she trusted his opinion. Of course, that wasn't to say Damon's opinion was necessarily the wisest opinion to go on, given his track record so far, but she trusted him all the same.

The room she was in now was different from the one she'd been held in last time. For one, it was a proper bedroom. She was on a king-size bed surrounded by loose, sky blue drapes. The noticeable thing about the room was the lack of a window, which meant her view consisted of the wallpaper - a very light beige, if you wanted to know, nothing special - and a single, grubby, lonely looking chair in the corner.

With not much expectation, Elena tried the door. It was locked - big surprise there. She put a little extra force into it, before attempting to boot it down with her feet. There was an amused chuckle on the other side of the door, which meant there was a guard there. Frustrated, rather than scared, Elena fell back onto the bed, her eyes searching the room for any signs of an exit.

"There's no way out. I've ensured that," a familiar voice said coolly.

Elena froze with terror, her body swivelling around at an incredibly slow speed. Her eyes widened as she saw Klaus standing by the door, his arms folded, no trace of a smile on his face. Even though he was utterly expressionless, as though he was indifferent to her being here, he was more menacing then she'd ever seen him before.

"I don't know why I didn't just compel your friends to hand you over," he continued, sauntering forwards. "I guess it was more fun seeing what ridiculous lengths they'll go to you."

"A gloating villain. That's refreshing," Elena said, her voice thick with sarcasm.

He chuckled, amused by her.

"Oh, you really are quite a character," he declared, sitting on the bed and staring at her so creepily, she edged backwards a little. "It'll be a shame to see you die." He leaned over and touched her chin lightly.

"You surprise me," she said frostily, moving away, not even attempting to pretend she wasn't disgusted by him. "Capturing me this early? Probably not your wisest move. Gives my friends plenty of time to find me."

"Then I'll kill them," Klaus said lightly. "One by one. I'm done playing games, even though they're so fun to play. I've captured you a little bit earlier than schedule because I suspect your friends will come looking for you. And they'll be walking into a trap. You see, I'm minus a witch, a vampire and a werewolf sacrifice. I believe you know someone who is each of them. So your presence here has more than one purpose. Had you behaved last time, your friends needn't have gotten involved but now…"

A frozen look of horror emerged across Elena's face. Biting back a scream of horror, she transformed all her anger, all her hatred, all her fear into a single glare. She was utterly powerless and she hated the feeling.

"Oh, and I have some insurance in case you try anything," Klaus added, grinning. "She was kind enough to invite me into her humble home but I thought I'd invite her back to mine first."

Elena let out a groan of despair as an unconscious Jenna was carried in, her body carelessly dropped onto the bed. Her eyes immediately fell onto the big, red mark on her neck.

"What happened?" she nearly shrieked. "What did you do?"

"She proved to be feistier than I reckoned." Klaus shrugged, looking unapologetic. "And I was feeling a bit…thirsty." He was amused by the nauseated expression across Elena's face. "If it's any consolation, I don't think you'll need to conceal anything from her anymore."

Elena felt like crying but no tears seemed to come out. Her mouth remained slightly open, her eyes wide and frightened. It was times like this she wished she could open her eyes and return to a time - any time - when she felt safe and secure. Jenna's lack of knowledge of the whole supernatural insanity had been the one last bit of comfort she'd held on to. Now, she knew that Jenna would never feel safe again. She'd never be able to go up to bed without checking all the locks, checking that nothing was hiding in the shadows waiting to hurt her. She'd never be able to trust so easily again, knowing that appearances were so deceiving, and that sometimes the best disguise is simply blending in with the crowd.

"Why, why her?" Elena had to ask.

"Because you care about her," Klaus said coldly. "I could've plucked a stranger off the street and you would've still had this insane desire to protect them. I don't understand that pull you humans have to protect one another, although I have to admit it is a useful tool to use against you."

"You were human once," Elena snarled, her eyes flashing with fury. "Don't try and pretend that you weren't. You have humanity…somewhere. Although it's probably long gone by now," she added, with a snort.

"True," Klaus conceded fairly, his voice low and even. "Humanity was once a part of me. I was never satisfied with what I was however."

"How do you remember that far back?" Elena grudgingly asked, despite the fact she was literally shaking with anger. "How do you keep track of all your memories?"

"Being a vampire in some ways is like being human. Whatever memories we store are often sorted into categories of importance. We remember the big things, the events that changed us, but the little things are often left in the dark. Not irretrievable, but not instantly at hand to recall. I, for one, remember what it was first like to taste human blood." He smacked his lips together, smiling. "It was so bitter, I thought I'd never acquire a taste for it. Your precious Salvatores probably spared you the details on what tasting blood actually does to you. It changes you. Each drop you take makes you stronger, makes that ability to just snap a constant temptation. If you can control the taste, control the amount of blood you put in your body, you can balance somewhat between being human and being a vampire."

"Why are you telling me this?" Elena asked, shaking with fright this time, feeling disgusted by the choice of topic and sorry that she'd ever brought it up.

"Because all my other prisoners were dull," Klaus lamented. "You ask questions, which I like. Shows a bit of initiative and courage." He held a strand of her hair in his fingers, which made her freeze with alarm. "I must depart for now… but we'll continue our chat later."

He rose and gave her a parting smirk, leaving her sitting there in the dark, her breaths coming out in hitched sobs, as she buried her face in Jenna's hair, realizing her aunt was going to get the surprise of her life when she saw her supposedly dead niece in the room with her…

* * *

"Anybody home?" Caroline loitered in the doorway. "Stefan? Damon?"

"If we said no, would you go away?" someone hollered.

Caroline rolled her eyes and walked into the living room where Damon was, two glasses of alcohol balanced in his hands. He saw her and pulled a face, which was effectively the way they greeted each other.

"I guess I need to put up a sign on the door. No werewolves or blondes allowed," he muttered to himself, grinning when Caroline let out a splutter of indignation. "Relax, Barbie. I'm kidding…"

"What's with the liquor?" she asked, motioning towards the glasses. "Expecting company?"

"Rose is upstairs talking to Elena," Damon replied. "I'm waiting for her to finish their girly chat so we can have our own." He smirked. "Not that there's much talking going on… I wonder if they're okay?"

"Is Rose the spiky haired brunette?" Caroline questioned him with a frown. "I saw her as I came in at the end of the drive. She was putting something in the trunk of a car."

Damon suddenly frowned. "Are you sure that was her? Could've been someone else…"

"Could've been… Except I saw her drink from a blood bag she'd obviously raided from your house," Caroline replied, a little smug. "She looked a little on edge."

Damon's frown deepened and, without warning, he raced upstairs, bursting into his bedroom. When he saw Elena wasn't there, he started to panic, going into action mode as he zipped in and out of each of the bedrooms, calling her name loudly each time he entered a room. Cursing himself for letting Rose be alone with her, he blurred back downstairs.

"She's taken Elena," he announced.

"What?" Caroline demanded. "Again?"

"Yes, again," Damon snapped. "Only I don't think it was her fault. I think she was compelled to do it."

"She's a vampire! We don't get compelled!" Caroline spluttered.

"Here's where the plot thickens, sweetheart…we can," Damon told her. "But only if an Original does it. I remember hearing it somewhere." He grabbed his coat and took her hand. "Come on, Blondie. You're here, you might as well make yourself useful."

"What? I can't help," Caroline said, panicking. "Why not get Stefan?"

"Stefan is AWOL right now. Ric would normally be my second choice but I think an all vampire team might be what's needed at the moment," Damon said hurriedly.

"No." Caroline shook his hand off, looking fierce. "Damon, don't you see, this is what Klaus will be expecting! You dash in there, you're going to get killed. It won't help Elena and you know it."

Damon snarled at her, the desire to just rip her to shreds taking over. He reached out a shaking hand to do so but could hear Elena's judgemental voice inside his own mind and restrained himself.

"So, what do you suggest, Lara Croft?" he demanded. "Seeing how I'm apparently doing this all wrong…"

"Don't be snarky, Damon, I'm just trying to be practical," Caroline cut across, glaring at him. "If you just took a moment to think, rather than act, a lot of bad stuff wouldn't have happened. Let's call Bonnie and Jeremy and think about this carefully."

"You might be right," he said, every word dripping with reluctance. "I think first things first we need to gather our strength."

"Good," Caroline said approvingly. "You're actually thinking with your head and not your heart."

"Don't try to analyse me, Forbes. I can break you like that."

He snapped his fingers as a demonstration, something which Caroline was clearly unimpressed by.

"Yeah? That'd be a smart move considering I'm best friends with the girl you love."

"Love?" Damon practically shrieked the word. "Can people please not presume to tell me what my feelings are? Otherwise I might as well not bother feeling anything at all, and we all know what happens when I shut down."

"Prick," Caroline snapped. "Your problem is you don't admit to things until it's too damn late. Have you even _told _her how you feel? Bearing in mind that involves a lot more than saying 'I love you'? I know for a fact she's the first thing you look at when we're all in a room together. You'd die for her in an instant."

"Well, look who's brushed up on all her facts," Damon mocked. "Look, what me and Elena have is complicated. I'd appreciate if you didn't try to overanalyse everything. Just because you've evolved into this new, _deep_ person doesn't mean the rest of us have."

"Whatever." Caroline was unimpressed. "And to think, I came over here hoping to have a mature conversation with you."

"Mature? Do you not know me?"

"Actually, no I don't." She brushed a stray hair from across her face as her eyes honed in on his. "I still can't forgive what you did to me, Damon. You used and abused me, told me I was worthless and shallow, and made me literally run back and forth across town just to please you. But I want to give you a second chance. For Elena. I suspect she might actually love you back and if I'm going to be head bridesmaid at your wedding, I want to at least have a civil relationship with the groom before I do so. Next to co-ordinated dresses, the key part of a successful wedding is maintaining good relationships with everyone…"

"Wedding?" Damon spluttered. "Dream on! I don't do commitment. I don't like to commit myself to a ship unless I know it's not going to sink on me."

"I know," Caroline said, her tone softening. "But I think there's nothing you wouldn't do for Elena."

He stared at her, surprised by her sudden change in tone. Suspicious, he turned around, fully intending to put this absurd conversation out of his mind. But, there was a small part of him which could envision a white wedding. Maybe not now. Maybe not for a long time. Maybe not ever. But he could see Elena in a long, flowing white dress; he could envision himself lifting up the veil in front of her face to kiss her; hell, he could see them pulling off every corny tradition every wedding required you to partake in.

Caroline was right. He would do anything for that girl. It was bizarre how only months ago he would've literally hurt her just to hurt Stefan over a bitter feud which stretched back longer than he could count. Now, he was willing to die to protect her, which brought back an earlier conversation - well, tiff, really - that he and Elena had had.

The old Damon would have probably beat the crap out of the new Damon, all the while screaming at him for suddenly embracing his human side and becoming like Stefan.

He shuddered. No matter how human or otherwise he could get, he would never be as bad as Stefan.

"Alright, I'll call round for the teenage brat, you handle the witch," he said, retrieving his phone.

"Already on it." Caroline already had her phone at her hand.

Before he tried to get hold of Jeremy, Damon tried Stefan again.

"Where are you?" he muttered into the speaking end of the phone. "Answer, damn it!" Then, when it went to voicemail, he said, "Stefan. This is a pissed off Damon. We have a situation over here and if you don't come over here and help us, I'm going to kick your ass."

He rang off, satisfied he'd gotten his message across. Worry curdled in the pit of his stomach. Klaus wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Elena would be guarded extra carefully now and even though they had time on their side, he had to consider the possibility - however minute he tried to make it inside his own mind - that maybe he might lose her forever.

He knew having a future with Elena by his side seemed to be just a pipe dream at this point. He could conceive, however faintly, that there was a chance they could get through this, that maybe one day he could win her heart over once and for all. All that he could conceive, even if was only in his wildest fantasy. He could construct over a million scenarios - some more unlikely than others - whereby he and Elena just took off into the sunset together, without looking back.

But a future without Elena in it…?

It was just unconceivable, unthinkable, and overall depressing.

* * *

Matt was in his room, trying to digest everything, but finding his mind was completely swamped. He felt this burning desire for revenge, with Vicki being the sole reason behind it. Kicking aside his school bag - homework, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't important, therefore could wait - he grabbed his phone and wondered who to call. Bonnie? Her part in the big deception still stung. Caroline? No… He couldn't go down that road. It was over between them. He couldn't see a future for them. Not anymore.

"Hey, Matt," a quiet voice called.

Nearly leaping out of his skin, Matt saw Stefan standing by his open windows, hands inside his pockets, looking extremely awkward.

"How did you get in?" Matt demanded, looking shaken. "Is that a - Is that a vampire thing?"

Stefan closed his eyes. "Yeah."

"I thought you had to be invited in. Least that what's in Elena's diary..."

"I've been invited in, Matt. Me and Elena came over once for a second double date with you and Caroline, remember?"

Matt winced, remembering.

"I can't hear whatever it is you have to say, Stefan," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm still trying to absorb everything Damon said. I'm still trying to restrain myself from going over there and killing him for what he did to Vicki."

"I know. That's why I'm here," Stefan said slowly, walking towards him. "A lot of people when they find out about vampires and the supernatural don't know how to handle it. The truth consumes them, drives them mad. Why do you think Bonnie, Elena and Caroline have been so distant? This life isn't something they can talk about. You - Well, I can make you forget this. I can make you forget what you've heard."

"Why? I don't want to forget," Matt exploded. "The truth about Vicki hurts but at least it's the truth. I don't want to go back to believing a cover story told by the cowardly council."

"You're not handling it well," Stefan pointed out calmly. "Over the past couple of months, I've become close with Caroline. I don't want her to get hurt and seeing you constantly flinch whenever she looks at you, or smiles, hurts her. It cripples her inside. Believe me, I know. Elena didn't take the news that well either, and it physically hurt knowing she was disgusted by me, by what I was. And I'd take away her memories of us, of what we are, of this life except for her not knowing is dangerous. And even if it wasn't it's too late." His broke a little. "Every day Elena gets closer to Damon and I feel like it's my fault. Like I've done something which has pushed her away from me. I won't let that happen between you and Caroline. You have a chance for a happy ending."

Within seconds, he was in front of the scared boy, placing his hands around his face and staring into his eyes, blinking back tears.

"You will forget what Damon told. You will forget about vampires and werewolves and everything like that. You will go on living your life as it was before you read Elena's journal. Understand?"

"I understand," Matt recited obediently.

"Trust me. It's better this way," were Stefan's final words on the matter, before he disappeared into the night.

Matt blinked and then stared at the spot where Stefan had disappeared. Ever since reading Elena's journal - which had turned out to be the smartest move he'd ever made, rather than the most insensitive - he'd equipped himself with vervain, stealing it from the local station during the dead of night. Stefan had tried to compel him to forget, which seemed like such a cop-out to him. Didn't they try to do the same thing with Jeremy and it'd backfired in pretty much the same way?

He scoffed and decided the Salvatores were not as intelligent as they'd first seemed. Yeah, they were probably book smart but when it came to everything else? Yeah, they were just as human as the rest of them, making bad decisions they'd later regret, sometimes committing actions which were almost doomed to backfire on them.

This, in all fairness, had been one of them.

* * *

Elena stroked her aunt's hair, wincing every time her eyes came into contact with the ugly mark on her neck. Born out of a split second's madness, she wished there were no such things as vampires or werewolves. They caused nothing but misery and pain.

"Mm…"

Jenna stirred. Elena felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. She was honestly dreading the inevitable reaction that would occur. Would she scream? No, she didn't peg Jenna has a screamer, never had. She wasn't a fainter either, which left denial as the last option.

Jenna rolled onto her side, her fingers flying towards her wound. Her eyes flickered open, finding their way onto Elena. They briefly widened, before her entire body jolted upwards.

"Easy, easy, Jenna," Elena soothed. "Your wound…"

"Elena?" Jenna looked troubled. "Is that you?"

Elena nodded. "I know you think I'm dead but…."

To her surprise, tears sprung to Jenna's eyes. She wiped them away fiercely, but the emotion was still there on her face.

"Am I dead?" she wondered. "Where's Miranda? And Mom?"

"You're not dead," Elena said firmly, rubbing her shoulder. "We're both alive."

"No…I saw your body. You were dead. You had no pulse," Jenna said firmly, not even looking at her. "You can't be alive, therefore I must be dead."

She kept up this sort of nonsensical babbling before Elena had to interrupt and tell her the truth. This was not what she'd ever wanted to do but maybe it was for the best. She'd tried to keep everyone she'd ever loved from finding about vampires and other dark matters, but in the end they'd found out anyway - Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie, and now Matt and Jenna…

"Jenna…. " Elena felt heartbroken at having to explain to her aunt what was going on. "I am alive. How can I prove it to you? I'm real. You're real. We're both in serious danger. Just check out that wound on your neck."

Something seemed to click with Jenna. Warily, she examined her wound and her fingers seemed to tremble. A terrifying noise, which was a cross between a wail and a shriek, left her lips, and she drew her knees in towards her chest.

"That guy…" she gasped, hyperventilating. "He lunged for me. I didn't… I thought I was going to die. He bit me."

"I know, I know…" Elena could hear the sobs in her own voice. "I know what's going on seems impossible, but I need you to stay calm."

"Elena." That simple utterance made her freeze. "I don't want to know how you're alive. That - That I can handle….just about. I just want to know what the hell is going on. Why did he bite me?"

Elena threw her hands up in the air, unable to select a suitable response. How could she say that it was because Klaus was sadistic and wanted to hurt her? Jenna didn't live in that world, she didn't belong. Giving her the knowledge that creatures like him existed was like stealing away her innocence somehow; both acts would leave a damaging, permanent mark on her soul. Compulsion, as Jeremy frequently reminded her, took away the memory, not the pain. Even if someone did take away her memories, she would always be left with this scar, this sense of foreboding she'd never be able to explain.

Jeremy was evidence enough for that.

"What happened tonight?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know the chain of events which had led to her being here.

"Er…" Jenna was flustered; that was never a good sign. "I had a fight with Ric. I told him I was moving back and then I got home, made myself some dinner. Burned it, naturally." She let out a weak chuckle. "Then there was this knock on the door. This guy stood there… called himself Klaus. Said he was doing a research paper and wanted first hand accounts from people who live in rural towns with rich histories. I wasn't really in the mood to talk but I thought, what the hell, I needed a distraction. So I invited him in and that's when he attacked me."

"He was a vampire," Elena said bluntly.

"I knew you were going to say something crazy like that," Jenna said, looking weary. "Suppose it fits though."

"You believe me?"

"Yeah." Jenna didn't sound too sure. "I mean it's crazy you're here. Who did they bury if it wasn't you?" She shook her head. "Don't answer. I'm not sure I even wanna know. "

"There's so much you don't want to know but probably need to know," Elena said slowly. "It'll sound crazy, but bear with me. Everything's going to be okay, Jenna. I promise."

"Okay, now I'm scared," Jenna admitted.

"You should be." Elena swallowed loudly. "But if I tell you, you can't tell a soul. If you tell people, there'll be a lot of people who will be surprisingly inclined to believe you and will do something about it. It's dangerous for you to know…yet somehow even more dangerous for you not to know…"

Jenna smiled suddenly, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I've not seen you have this much trouble getting out words since I saw you in your school play of _Much Ado About Nothing,_" she noted quietly. "Boy, was that a long night…"

"You saw that?"

"Miranda made me," she confessed. "I didn't want to stay any longer than was necessary - I knew Logan Scumbag was around somewhere - and so that was probably why she never told you I came to see it. She knew you would've tried to have made me stay."

"I only had trouble getting out of words because Tyler was making every word he came out sound like he was constipated," Elena said haughtily, remembering that night. "We'd been cast as Beatrice and Benedick and he just kept doing it all wrong."

"My God..." Jenna clapped an astonished hand over her mouth. "It is you!"

"Yes…" Elena was confused. "Who did you think you were talking to?"

"I don't know… But I wasn't convinced until just now it was you I was talking to," she confessed. "I thought you might've been some weird…doppelganger thing. Maybe I watch too many sci-fi shows. I dunno…."

She suddenly embraced Elena fiercely, the latter feeling alarmed and yet touched by the gesture. She felt her aunt's body shaking and felt immensely guilty for being the cause behind it. Maybe Klaus had delivered her a blessing in disguise. She could finally unload everything and confess up to the one person left in her world who remained blissfully unaware.

"I'm not a doppelganger," Elena said cautiously, realizing she had to handle this very delicately. "But I do have one…"

"What?" Jenna reeled back, visibly alarmed.

"I'll tell you everything," Elena pleaded. "But you've gotta stay calm, Jenna. And maybe once I do you'll understand why Ric has been so secretive. This isn't the kind of stuff you can just tell someone and expect them to handle it. I know when I first found out I didn't handle it at all well."

"Okay," Jenna said, calming down a fraction. "Tell me. I can't promise to handle anything well. Frankly, I'm still in favour of just having a nervous breakdown right here, right now. But, I'll hear you out and try to save my flipping out until the end. Agreed?"

Elena couldn't help but release a little chuckle. "Agreed."

* * *

Having gotten hold of Jeremy, Damon lurked in the darkness, swirling around his drink as he waited for everyone to show up. Caroline was in the storeroom, retrieving some blood, and Stefan was still AWOL. Apparently his angry, threatening voicemail hadn't done anything, which made him sigh heavily. He needed his brother now more than ever, and yet there was no response from him. It would've been more effective talking to a brick wall than trying to reach Stefan when he was out on his brooding travels.

There was a sudden noise behind him. Quick as a flash, the drink was on the side and he was up on his feet, his vampire face on. Snarling, he blurred around for a bit until he eventually came face to face with a woman. She was unfamiliar to him, although he couldn't help but immediately dislike the smug look on her face. Other than her auburn hair and the stubborn quality to her eyes, there was nothing of immediate interest to him.

"Wanna tell me why you've broken into my house?" he asked, his voice quiet. "I'd advise you to make the explanation you're about to give phenomenally good if you want to remain alive."

"I'm Jules," she said, her eyes scouring over his. "I escaped from Klaus's clutches not unlike your doppelganger friend."

"Her name is Elena," Damon felt the need to correct.

"Whatever," Jules said, shrugging. "Point is, I think you need my help."

"I don't need any help," Damon said, smirking. "I'm invincible."

"Wow. That cocky attitude is gonna get you killed," Jules fired back. "You've gotta swallow that pride of yours, boy. I'm a werewolf. I'm stronger on a full moon and I can help. I don't really know why I'm even offering. Mason hung around here and got himself killed."

"You knew Mason?" Damon was delighted. "Really?"

"Yeah, and something tells me you knew him," Jules cut across him, her voice icy. "So, let's skip the part where you tease and joke about murdering him. Self-preservation is a big part of what I am and it would be suicidal to try and take you down."

"Yes, it would…" Damon affirmed.

"Point is despite what you did, I can help," Jules said fiercely, ignoring the rush of anger she felt towards him. "I know other werewolves. I can round them up, it'll even the playing field a little bit."

"Why?" Damon spat. "You know what happened the last time a werewolf crossed my path. Why would you want to help?"

"Because we do not want that curse broken any more than you do," Jules said earnestly. "In fact, we want it even less than you. That curse being broken spells werewolf Armageddon. We despise vampires enough as it is; having them run around in the daylight spells trouble. Klaus is going for full on domination and I assume we have similar reasons in why we want to prevent that from happening."

Damon looked at her, scrutinising her expression carefully. He understood her reasons and knew she wasn't lying about that. But there was a lie somewhere in the story, and he didn't like the fact that if he trusted her, he could well end up dead. Stefan would've probably swallowed her story whole, but Damon knew this woman had another agenda. Yeah, she probably did want to stop Klaus but she'd just admitted she knew about him killing Mason, which confused him even more about her real agenda.

"So…you want to help the person who killed your BFF?" he said slowly.

"You know the saying, keep your friends closer and your enemies closer?" she said, walking towards him. "Well, even though I know you're not as bad as Klaus, you might as well be. You're all the same, yet I'm not stupid. I know who the bigger threat is. All I'm saying is watch your back, Damon. I own it."

And with a smirk, she flounced off. He could've bolted after her and snapped her neck but what would've been the point? Killing her would prove nothing and would probably only send more wolves after him. So, maybe the whole 'keep your enemies close' philosophy wasn't a bad one to have. And, more to the point, hadn't they all at some point lamented the lack of allies they seemed to have? This plan, despite his reluctance to confer with werewolves, had its benefits and he knew it.

Narrowing his eyes, Damon decided to go join Caroline in her feast. He wanted to be as strong as possible when the moment came to destroy each and every thing in his life which posed even the slightest of threats to Elena.

* * *

**A/n: Not too happy with this chapter myself but had to be written. Jenna's involvement was kinda critical as I needed Elena to stay put lol. Does that make me as bad as Klaus? LOL. Jenna is actually quite hard to write when she's not being snarky, so forgive me if she seems a touch OOC here. I think a part of her is just in plain denial about what's happening. Loved writing the Damon/Caroline scene though! Their interactions on screen lately have been awesome! And yes Jules does have her own agenda but I had to rope her in somehow.**

**Anyway thank you so much for reviewing! 200! Woooooo :D I love it! **


	23. History, the Mistress of Misconception

_Chapter 23: History, the Mistress of Misconception_

* * *

_Dear Diary._

_I've not written anything for a while. At first, I thought it was because I simply had nothing to say. Then I realized it wasn't that at all. I just had so much to say that I couldn't even begin to put it all down. Everything is just so crazy that I can't even fathom it out for myself. I used to be the girl who had everything figured out - life, love, reality. Now none of it makes sense anymore. _

_The last two people I tried to keep out of this dark world have found their way into it. I don't whether to feel relieved or scared. But really I think the heart of the matter is I don't know what to feel about anything anymore. I used to think you fell in love with one person and that was it. You got married, settled down, and had your happily ever after. Nothing more than that. _

_But life is never as easy as that. What happens if the one you fall in love with turns out to have everything you can't stand in a person? Greed, selfishness, a tendency to snap without thinking things through… I could go on but you'd get the point. What is it about him that makes me care? What is it about the way he looks at me that thinks, yeah, maybe I could do this? Am I as bad as Katherine for breaking Stefan's heart? Was there ever a clear divide between me and her, or did I always have a streak of her in me? _

_For once, diary, writing all this down leaves me more confused than ever before. Someone once said you don't choose who you fall for. You just have to hope that even if they have no redeeming qualities, the love you share will be that redeeming quality. _

_I know one thing for sure. The person who whispered those sweet words to me, during that hazy moment I could've sworn was a dream, was him. I don't know how I know. I just wish he could tell me how he feels. The whole truth. Maybe that's expecting too much. Maybe that's being hypocritical, because I'm not doing the same. But I have a lot more to lose than him. If I lay my heart on the line and he breaks it, well, that'll be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back for me. He's a lot stronger than me, he can deal with heartbreak a hell of a lot better than me. _

_Or can he? I've always presumed Damon to be the stronger brother - in more ways than one - but I think he breaks too. I think all the times he's snapped isn't because he's trying to prove he's strong, but that he has a breaking point too._

_I think I love him, diary. But it scares me. Because he's not the person I ever wanted to fall for. He snaps easily, and he can't let go of the little things, and he can be so selfish sometimes I want to scream! But he loves me. Unconditionally. Maybe that doesn't eradicate his flaws, but it sure is a good enough reason to give him a second glance and look past everything else. _

_Whoever said love isn't easy had it right. _

_In fact, it's the hardest thing anyone has to go through._

Elena stopped, her pen poised at the paper. That seemed like a good place to stop writing, yet her heart was overflowing with more words. She'd opened the floodgate now, which meant more and more secrets about herself were tumbling out into the open. Writing had always been a strong skill of hers, even after her mother had passed away and there had been no one to guide her, but now it seemed her heart was doing the talking. And it had a lot to say after days, weeks, months of being repressed.

"What are you writing?" Jenna asked quietly, making her jump slightly having forgotten her presence.

"I always bring three things when I leave the house now," Elena murmured. "Vervain - for obvious reasons - some paper, and a pen. If there's a lot going on I have to take a pause and write it all down."

"For your diary?"

Elena nodded. "Having at least one constant part of my day I can mould into a routine helps with all the craziness. At the start of the day, I read what I wrote the night before, to help me wrap my head around it all, and at the end of the day I write my latest entry. I've not been able to do that as of late so I've taken to carrying paper around with me."

"And that helps you get your head around everything?" Jenna sounded incredulous. "I could have all the paper in the world and still not be able to wrap my head around all this craziness."

"How are you doing with all this?" Elena asked, concerned.

"I don't know," Jenna admitted. "On the one hand, I could strangle you and Ric for lying to me. But then again, I understand why you had to cover it up. What I don't understand is how you can constantly put yourself in danger like that? How can you still be with Stefan knowing what he is?"

"I'm not," Elena said bluntly. "There's a lot about me and Stefan we can never resolve. I love him but every time we try to take a step forward we take a step back instead."

"I can relate," Jenna said, nodding her head. "And, of course, there's the other reason."

"What other reason?"

"The fact you're in love with Damon," Jenna said pointedly.

Elena's eyes widened fractionally.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, careful not to implicate herself further than she already had.

"A number of reasons." Jenna inhaled deeply, preparing to list off the reasons. "One, whenever I've seen you two together there's something there. Something I can never put my finger on. I want to say I've only ever seen you two as friends but there are moments - moments you think I don't see - when I see the way he looks at you. And the way you look at him. It's not friendship, Elena, no matter how you dress it up. Two, the night I saw you two kissing…"

"That was Katherine," Elena said, frowning. "We've established that."

"Yeah, okay…" Jenna looked dubious. "Even though it was this doppelganger, psycho bitch person, I had this weird moment where I actually saw you two together. _Together, _together. I used to be able to predicate what you'd say and do in certain situations. When you're with him, around him, I honestly don't know what's going through your mind."

"And that's definitive proof I'm in love with him?"

"With you and Stefan, there was a formula to your relationship. It was easy, nice, safe. But take it from me, I've been in safe relationships before and ended up backing out before that particular ship sunk. Safe doesn't always make for happy relationships."

Elena chewed this over. "But how can a guy with psychopathic tendencies, anger issues, and a selfish streak possibly make a happy relationship?" she argued. "For God's sake, Jenna - you dated Logan. The epitome of scumbags. Would you argue that he would've made you happy had he not skipped town, a.k.a. tried to kill Stefan and end up a psychopathic vampire who tried to turn Caroline?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Jenna said, her eyes visibly misting over at Elena's rambling explanation. "That's what Miranda used to say. I used to try and make her say otherwise, like asking if a cold, remorseless killer and rapist deserved a second chance. She said as long as someone showed a willingness to change - even if that willingness lasted a second - that's remorse in her eyes."

"So, how could you begrudge Ric a second chance for lying to protect you and yet give one to Logan who cheated on you? Numerous times," Elena asked.

"The more you love someone, the easier it is to hate them when they make a decision you don't like," Jenna replied easily. "Which brings me to reason number three…"

Elena squirmed uncomfortably. "He snapped Jeremy's neck. Was I supposed to magically forgive him?"

"So you said. Remind me to thank him for almost ending my nephew's life when we get out of this," Jenna said, her tone souring at that reminder. "I've forgotten why I'm defending him…"

Elena laughed. "That's my problem all the time," she exclaimed. "I go to defend him, then something he's done makes me forget why I'm bothering to defend him. Do you see my problem?"

Jenna touched her neck pointedly. "Do you see mine? I wanted to know the truth, and I got it, but now I'm wondering if maybe ignorance was bliss after all."

"Don't let Ric catch you saying that," Elena said, half-heartedly trying to create humour.

Jenna chuckled softly and put her hands over her face, rocking back and forth on the bed. Elena wished she could take away her pain of having her entire world changed. But, honestly, once you knew, nothing - not compulsion, not therapy sessions (like they helped anyway), not talking - could really make that revelation any easier. Even now, Elena still woke up sometimes reeling from the fact she lived in a world that contained more dangers than humans.

"It's not an easy thing to know, Jenna," she said softly. "But maybe it's good that you know. It can help keep you prepared."

"Prepared, my ass," Jenna mumbled. "How do you ever prepare yourself for vampires?"

Elena attempted to answer but realized she made a good point.

How _did_ you ever prepare yourself for vampires?

"I'm not saying I approve," Jenna felt the need to add. "In fact, the thought of him disgusts me now, but you can't help who you fall for, Elena. You just got to live with the fact you love him."

"You're taking this all remarkably well," Elena said suddenly, narrowing her eyes.

"That's because she's under compulsion," a dark voice said from the doorway. "I knew bringing her in would lead to questions. She'd freak out and try to escape." He walked forwards a little bit. "No need to thank me…"

Elena turned to Klaus, her face filled with hatred and desperation. She looked at Jenna, who didn't even flinch at his appearance; she merely looked at him with curiosity, like she was examining an art exhibit not the vampire who'd bit her and fed from her.

"So what we've been talking about…?"

"Merely my own questions coming from a more trustworthy source," Klaus said, striding forwards and taking Jenna's hands, before looking into her eyes and murmuring something.

Jenna gave a half sort of laugh before slumping sideways, back into unconsciousness.

"What did you do?" Elena demanded, rising to her feet, her fists clenched. "Stop controlling her like she's some sort of puppet."

He looked at her with amusement.

"In case you haven't met a vampire before, humans are rather low down in the food chain, so you could say she is some sort of a puppet. Be thankful after the stunts you've pulled in the past I've not fed her to my guards. Besides, I'd rather her not be privy to this conversation," he said, his eyes almost glowing red in the dark.

Elena decided she'd rather not know how his eyes could do that. She also tried not to think about the fact that this side of Klaus was reminiscent of the Damon she'd known before their trip to Georgia, except looking back she would welcome ten of those Damons rather than face one of _Klaus._

"What conversation?" she ventured bravely.

"It's time you brushed up on your history, so you can know the full facts before you die," Klaus said, his jaw jutting out as he scrutinised her. "You've probably heard little to nothing about me. Over the years, I've tracked down and killed those I don't trust, those who are privy to any and all information regarding me. You'd call it murder, I'd call it weeding the garden, making sure those few bad weeds don't corrupt the rest. Enough of the analogy, however, I'm digressing…"

Elena swivelled around fully, paying the utmost attention - not that she could do much else - strangely excited by the fact she was going to learn about Klaus' history. There wasn't much she could do with the knowledge, mind, but she had to know. It was like with Katherine; she didn't want to know, but sensed she had to find out nonetheless.

"Alright," she said, trying to sound indifferent, as if she didn't care either way. "Tell me."

* * *

"Is this really appropriate given the circumstances?" Jeremy prompted an otherwise preoccupied Damon, who was staring ahead, trying to fill his head with positive thoughts.

What Jeremy was referring to was the blasting sounds of Aerosmith's _I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing _being pumped out of the stereo system, the theme tune from the notorious film _Armageddon, _which, if Jeremy remembered correctly, involved something about space and explosions and critical missions concerning life or death situations.

"Probably not," Damon admitted, shrugging.

"What's wrong with him?" Caroline asked, her loud shrill tones making Damon wince.

"Once again, Blondie, your powers of observation are exceptional," he said sarcastically. "I'm right here!"

"Are you?" she demanded. "You look like you're a thousand miles away."

"I'm worried about Elena." He pushed himself to his feet. "Sue me."

"Where's Stefan?" Bonnie asked from the corner, Grimoire in hand (just in case). "Why isn't he here?"

"I'm here," Stefan's quiet voice spoke up.

"Bout time," Damon grumbled. "Where the hell have you been? Have you not received my numerous angry voicemails?"

A hint of a smile crossed Stefan's face, although the dominant expression on his face was worry and stress. He stepped out of the shadows and seemed to convey a wordless apology.

"A failed and feeble attempt at doing the right thing," he quoted, giving Damon a smile. "Remember?"

"Vividly." Damon didn't smile. "What were you up to? Biting bunnies?"

Bonnie shuddered loudly, which made Damon grin despite himself.

"I was just out and about." Stefan looked uncomfortable. "You know, having a walk. Thinking things over."

"My diagnosis? You think too much," Damon informed him.

"Guys?" Bonnie looked meaningfully from one to the other. "Can we save the sarcastic remarks until later? What is it you want me to do exactly?"

"Elena has been taken back to Klaus," Damon said shortly. "We've got to get her back. I've got an idea about that which I want to run by everyone, which is why I've reluctantly asked someone else along."

"Why do I get the feeling you're about to reveal a stupid plan to us?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"Because you don't like me," Damon said matter-of-factly. "Ergo, you think I'm capable of making stupid decisions."

"Damon…" Caroline interjected.

"Blondie," he retaliated, his eyes dancing with amusement at how she winced at the insult.

"Never mind," she spat, irritated.

He inclined his head briefly, before turning towards Bonnie and Jeremy, a calculating look on his face.

"You can come in, John," he said, reluctance dripping from every word.

Jeremy's face tightened visibly; a look of intense dislike fell across Bonnie's face. But neither protested, with either showed the amount of faith they had in Damon - impossible - or they knew their opinions wouldn't alter the fact his mind was made up.

John walked into the room, his expression recognizing their dislike. Stefan scowled at his back as he passed, whilst Caroline - who was really indifferent to John - had to hide a laugh at Jeremy's disgusted expression, as though something foul had walked into the room.

"I'll skip to the point," John said, looking at Damon briefly. "Damon thought it would be a good idea for you to know what I told him. That way we'll all be on the same page and no one gets accused of holding back information."

Bonnie's expression shifted to a look of interest; he finally had at least one person's attention. Jeremy moved forwards so he was further in the room but, out of principle alone, he stayed a respectable distance away from John, the memory of Anna still imprinted in his mind.

"Back in the days before the curse," John began, his eyes hovering on each individual in turn. "There was a girl. I found out her name. She was Capricia Petrova, daughter of a man called Sansone." He saw everyone's blank looks. "Depending on which Italian translation you go by, it either means 'a strong man' or 'of the sun'. As you can imagine, if you go by the latter one, his name is extremely ironic. Anyway, this man loved his daughter intensely. So much so in fact that he made a deal with a local witch to keep his bloodline safe. At that time, vampires were running amok in the shadows, slaughtering all and everyone who crossed them. He made an alliance with the witch, with both promising to protect the other. An old family dagger was enhanced with a spell. Its survival would ensure Capricia's, and the power it could wield when handled by a Petrova would be three times as effective as it would be in the hands of any other." He stared at Damon. "A useful thing to note down, if you're taking notes. "

He paced the floor, enjoying the fact he had a captive audience.

"But Sansone didn't honour the alliance. During a riot, he gave up his friend as a witch and the witch in question was captured, later burned. Oh, but not before he'd tweaked the spell in revenge. Now, instead of being a life affirming item of significant importance to the Petrova line, it was a curse. The dagger, if destroyed or harmed in anyway would backfire on the Petrova line, effectively ending it. Capricia was turned not long after the alliance was made. In fact, some research even suggests she turned before it, and Sansone made the alliance not for her, but for his grandchild. The grandchild he never got to see because Capricia had her in secret, then carted off somewhere for her own protection."

Bonnie looked shocked. Jeremy closed his mouth, suddenly made aware it had been hanging over the past few minutes.

"Sansone is an Italian name," Stefan said slowly. "Katherine's family originated in Bulgaria, I'm sure of it. In fact, she said so little about her own family, I think that's the only fact she ever revealed."

"Yeah, that's the part to focus on." Damon rolled his eyes. "The name..."

"The actual name Petrova is Russian," John said. "But we never have any definitive proof of where a surname actually originates from anyway. We have rough estimates, sure, but history, ironically a subject prided for its accuracy, is filled with mistakes." He shrugged, looking supremely unconcerned. "Besides, Katerina Petrova has always sounded Italian to me. Italian names roll off the tongue, that's what they're renowned for."

"So, what's so special about this dagger?" Jeremy asked. "Other than the fact if used by a Petrova it works three times as well."

"It kills vampires effectively," John said. "Until a few days ago, I was only aware of the white ash of an Oak being a way to kill an Original, the major flaw behind that being that there's very little ash, and only one dagger which has to stay in the heart for the Original to stay dead."

"But it's more effective if a Petrova uses it," Damon said, following a train of thought.

"Jonathan Gilbert, from his various journals, seems to go one stage further by believing it can _only_ be used by a Petrova," John said thoughtfully.

"So, hypothetically speaking, Elena or Katherine can be the only one to use the dagger," Stefan said, seeing where this is going.

There was an uproar after that.

"She is not going to be in the middle of that fight," Damon said fiercely.

"She already kinda is, Damon," Jeremy argued. "She's supposed to be the sacrifice. And I'd suggest asking her before you go around presuming to know what she'll do. Haven't the last few days taught you anything?"

"Katherine will do it," Stefan said, trying to appease his brother. "It doesn't have to be Elena..."

"I've not seen her around lately," Damon argued. "And it's unlikely she's willing to go all ninja-karate on all the vampires all by herself. She may want Klaus dead but she's not going to risk her life to do so."

"Then we'll make her!"

"Yeah, 'cause that's the answer to everything! Force!"

Bonne meanwhile had taken herself out of the argument and was flicking through the Grimoire, flicking to the back pages which outline the history behind the book. Her eyes scanned a certain paragraph which had her eyes narrowing slightly. Then she almost dropped the book in shock.

"Guys," she called. Then, when they weren't listening, "GUYS!"

They turned reluctantly, still at each other's throats.

"The witch John mentioned?" she said, feeling shaky. "He was a Bennett witch. Well, a male witch is technically a warlock but still…"

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked, immediately by her side.

"It doesn't mention who he was, or what his name was," Bonnie said, scanning the text frantically. "But I've had a thought. If I'm related to the witch who made the curse, maybe I can remove it."

"You can't." John shook his head. "For one thing, you're still really young and naïve. And for another, the shaman who made the sun and the moon curse helped him with the spell. Shaman's spells are notorious for being tricky to break. They almost always require some sort of sacrifice to break."

"Excuse me for trying to help," Bonnie snapped.

"This isn't really helping," Stefan said, sighing loudly.

"Unless I'm mistaken," Caroline said loudly, capturing everyone's attention, "wasn't there about to be some grandly unveiled plan? I mean, that is the reason for the history lesson right? You have some sort of plan?"

"We need to find the dagger," John said firmly. "Klaus wants to get his hands on it. My guess is he's captured Elena this early to help him find it. He'll want to destroy any and every artefact of the Petrova line, effectively making it as though the line never existed to begin with." He sighed. "And that's just stage one of his diabolical plan."

"Stage two would be….?" Damon prompted.

John gave him a dark look. "Total annihilation of everything supernatural that doesn't included vampires."

"What's Isobel's role in all of this?" Stefan asked quietly. "You've also neglected to mention how and why you're playing a role in all of this."

"She's my daughter, for one…"

"Oh, don't play the daddy card," Damon scoffed. "We all know family is a relative word. Just because you're related to someone doesn't make them family. You have to earn that right."

John's lip curled into sneer. "Of course, you'd know all about being a family man, wouldn't you, Damon?"

"Bite me."

Stefan rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated groan, which Jeremy echoed. They were making little progress here.

"So, what is your role?" Jeremy asked, stepping forward. "And don't give me that family crap. Like Damon said, you have to earn that right before you get any respect."

John glared wordlessly around the room.

"As hard as it is to believe me, I'm doing this for Elena," he said through gritted teeth. "You might say I'm lying. I get why you'd think that but it's not like you can choose who helps you. Me and Isobel are going to find the dagger. And once we do, we'll leave it in the hands of the person we think is going to keep it safe until it's needed. I'd suggest you all spend less time dispersing blame and more time working out how you're gonna get Elena back and defeat Klaus."

And without another word, he swept out of the room.

"As much as I hate him and want to see him suffer a slow, painful death," Damon said slowly, "I have to admit, he certainly knows how to exit a room in style."

* * *

Klaus circled Elena like a predator stalking his prey. Jenna lay unconscious, the only thing which stopped Elena from trying to make her escape. Every so often, her eye would flicker over to the huge red patch along her neck and her eye would twitch with repressed fury.

"Where to begin," Klaus mused, finally selecting a spot from which he could fix his cold gaze onto her. "Being one of the oldest vampires has its merits. We have power, speed, gifts the newer, less experienced vampires can only dream of possessing. But it also means I have centuries worth of memories. Some good, some bad, some just completely regrettable.

"I used to have a life. A home. I lived in a quiet German village for a time. I guess you could say it was my home town. Skipping past the awkward bits - my childhood, my progression to manhood etc - I was a very important person in the world of politics. I had fame, power, an air of terror about me. No one dared defy me. Then, a local Shaman came to my attention. He was brought before a small group of us, accused of witchcraft. There was no system of justice back then." His eyes misted over, as he faded into reminiscence. "The death of him brought a terrible curse upon us all who were gathered here. We thought his chants were the ramblings of a mad man. If only. Soon we found ourselves thirsty all the time. No amount of water could sustain that thirst. Food still tasted the same but it failed to give us any nutrition. We were never satisfied with anything. The sunlight - bearing in mind this happened before another Shaman made the Sun and the Moon curse - made us itch on the spot. We became sensitive to it. Not extremely, but enough to know something was horribly wrong.

"Then, one night, someone fell and cut themselves in front of me. My entire body ached to wander over and help. Without going into graphic detail, blood escaped down my throat and that was it. I became a slave to the blood. Some vampire lores suggest vampirism started with a sickness." He shook his head. "We weren't vampires until blood met our lips and then found its way into our system. The bloodlust was the original cause. Had we killed ourselves, or perhaps found another Shaman to remove the curse, we might never have become the monsters we are today."

He turned away from Elena for a moment. She stared at him, uncomfortable by the story yet fascinated by the revelation about how vampires came into existence.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked eventually.

"Because you should know," he replied, turning back to her. "Katerina was never much interested in learning why I wanted her so much. But you… you want to know your history. I can respect that." He paused before continuing with his story. "A few years later, the few of us who'd caved to the blood - others didn't, and were driven mad by the thirst - found we could create others the same of us. Elijah, a young nobleman, eventually came into our midst. He adapted to our ways surprisingly well and his passion for research helped us immensely. We'd migrated at this point to Italy, to this little village to the West. Some of the locals noticed how different we are. Some called us red-eye demons, though our eyes looked perfectly normal. Some just called us demons and took to carrying crucifixes like it was a life support machine." He scoffed. "Their heavily Catholic ways didn't help them much, I'll tell you that for nothing."

Elena felt the contents of her stomach lurch. She was sickened by the way he so casually described the slaughter of innocent people. Her eyes flashed with hatred and disgust, but allowed him to continue.

"It was there I became taken with the young Capricia Petrova," Klaus continued. "She was young, very beautiful, and extremely naïve. Her father, damn the fool, had heard the rumours of what we were. So he went to a local witch and shaman and was the reason behind the stupid curse in the first place." His fists clenched involuntarily. "He limited our power. Without sunlight, we were stuck in the shadows, making us easy prey. A lot of my fellow friends were slaughtered because we were cornered into only appearing at night. I took Capricia aside and attempted to... _persuade_ her to run with me. I fed her my blood and was preparing to kill her when Elijah came running up, having learned something interesting from the Shaman. He'd learned that the curse had been sealed in a special kind of stone and that because it had been sealed with the blood of a Petrova, it could only be broken by the blood of a Petrova, specifically one who looked exactly like the one whose blood was used to create the curse. It gave me more ammunition to just take the girl and run but she snapped out of her compelled state, and ran. Foolish girl only tripped over a damn boulder and broke her neck."

"But how did you know her being a vampire would ruin your chance at breaking the curse?" Elena ventured.

"Everything was new at this point. I had no clue, but Elijah advised me against taking her. He said her being a vampire would change everything and he said the only wise course would be to move on, maybe keep someone in the village to monitor her. I listened, rather wisely it seemed because her father knew exactly what I was and he knew what his daughter had become. He tried to murder me and I took a lot of pleasure in making sure his death was dragged out, nice and painful." He smiled cruelly. "Only it turned out he'd been one step ahead of me again and had taken out a life insurance policy on his own daughter and her remaining bloodline."

"How?" Elena asked curiously.

"That's not for you to know," Klaus snapped, being somewhat obvious in the fact they'd hit a part in the story he clearly didn't want her to know. "I had no idea she'd had a baby until decades later. It seems to be a Petrova thing, mothers leaving their children," he added spitefully, noticing Elena's face whiten fractionally.

"Shut up," Elena said in a low voice.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," Klaus remarked, with faint amusement. "Whoops… Naturally, once I knew about this mysterious child, I sought her out. She looked nothing like her mother, except for the trademark olive skin. In revenge for that fool's mistake, I turned her. I turned all the children born to the Petrova line when I realized they looked nothing like Capricia. I wish I knew what happened to her by the way. When Katerina ended up on my radar, I couldn't believe my luck. See, despite the fact I have this nifty ring to protect me from the sun, this quest for freedom has been a long and personal one. It's not been so much about the sun, as it has about the freedom that comes with it. Katerina was my last chance to fulfil that goal. Yet she escaped her fate by killing herself." His face tightened at the memory. "Still, when my plan comes to fruition, the name Petrova will be all but forgotten, but I digress… " The clichéd, villainous grin was back. "Let's face it. Even if I hadn't found you, you still would've ended up dead. One of those Salvatores would've turned you... At least this way you don't get to hang around, watch everyone you love die long after you..."

Elena's jaw was slack now. She felt some strange - and mad - desire take over her and she made to lunge at Klaus, too upset and furious to care that he was a thousand times stronger than her. In fact, it only took one sharp slap to the face to send her reeling across the room. Had she not learned anything from Rose? A vampire's strength was determined by their age; trying to attack him was beyond stupid. It was suicidal.

"Must I drill obedience into you?" Klaus's voice was low, surprisingly even. "I've been pissed about by your despicable family for centuries now. No more!"

He reached out an arm and pulled her to her feet. He pulled her out the room and down the corridor, whereby there was a set of large doors. Pushing her towards the door, he momentarily paused as he scrutinised her carefully.

"I think that concludes today's history lesson," he said, no trace of amusement or irony on his face. "Time for recess." He gave her the merest hint of a cruel smile. "You know Katerina messed with a lot of people. She broke a lot of hearts, got a lot of people into trouble. Not many of them can tell the difference between the doppelgangers. There's always something discerning one from the other. To be honest, not many of them care that there's a difference."

He motioned for a vampire standing by to open the door.

"They won't kill you," he told a terrified looking Elena. "They know I'd have their heads if they did. But I think they want to tell you in their own words exactly what having you here means to them."

Klaus shoved her forwards into the room, which turned out to be a large dining room straight from the pages of an old history book. And in that room, Elena saw, were about ten or twelve vampires…each of them wearing cold, calculating expressions on their faces. Each of them looking _extremely _pissed off, with the odd one smirking.

And when she saw the first one move towards her, she lifted up her arms to cover her face and screamed.

* * *

**A/n: Sorry! This was the boring chapter, all about the history. I like making up history. It's pretty cool. I think you can safely say the whole history thing would class as AU. Oh and there's a severe lack of Delena in this chapter…sorry. But next chapter includes a bit more action and a few more characters get interwoven. I know I have neglected a few characters *smacks wrist* sorry about that! I'll try and get it sorted. Keep reviewing you wonderful, wonderful people and thank you again for showing such interest in a story which, really, was the product of boredom and over-watching 2x08 'Rose' :P**


	24. Landslide

_Chapter 24: Landslide_

_I took my love and I took it down  
__I climbed a mountain then I turned around…_

Landslide, Fleetwood Mac

* * *

Jeremy stared aimlessly ahead, his eyes focused on the family portrait no one had been able to take down. His eyes fell on Elena's young and bubbly expression and found himself sighing at the fact he'd not seen her like that in a long time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bonnie watching him. They'd ended up back at his house trying to find other Gilbert journals which could've shed more light over Klaus and the Petrova dagger.

"You're staring," he said, his lips twitching into a smile despite himself.

"And?" she murmured, moving closer. "You ever hear the expression_ living on borrowed time_…?"

"Don't." He closed his eyes. "I can't listen to your absurd plan again."

Bonnie frowned, looking irritated.

"You have got to stop sticking your head in the hand, Jeremy," she said coolly, helping him scan through drawers and in less-than-obvious hiding spots where a journal could fit. "It's a plan, okay? Is it without its risks, no, but I read in the Grimoire about how channelling a certain amount of power can help you take down any vampire, original or not."

"Yeah, by channelling the power of dead witches!" Jeremy looked pissed off. "And who knows what damage might be done to you in the process? Somehow, I don't see anyone letting you take down Klaus all by yourself. We all care about you too much to let you do something like that."

Bonnie sighed. "I know. But if it helps save Elena from dying, I know they'll be on board with it. Damon will be anyway."

"Why do you say him? Stefan will be too!"

"Uh-huh, but Damon I notice has a tendency to think a little bit more practically than Stefan. I'm not saying that's a bad thing for Stefan, but it means right now I'm looking at my only ally being Damon. And, considering our history, I'm sure you can understand why I'm sort of uncomfortable with that idea."

Jeremy ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Why were the women in his life hell bent on self-destruction? With Vicki, it'd been the drugs; with Anna, it'd been about the company she'd kept; with Elena, it'd been her blazing determination to keep everyone safe at the cost of her own life. And now, Bonnie seemed to regard her own life as dispensable. He was going to end up getting himself killed trying to make sure the people he loved stayed alive, and the trouble was they all knew that, hence why he was stuck on journal searching duty.

"I'm not sure if there are anymore journals here," he sighed, putting away yet another box of memories he'd somehow believed would last forever. "Wherever they are, they're not in this house."

"What about your parent's lake house?" Bonnie offered.

Jeremy considered it. "It's possible," he admitted. "I'll drive down there later." He blanched at the idea; his entire face probably looked like he was in pain. "Or maybe I could send you down with Stefan?"

"Wish I could spare you the pain of going," Bonnie said gently. "But my being there won't help Stefan be invited in. I've a feeling because the house is a Gilbert residence, you are the only one who can invite him in."

"Right…"

He leaned his head against the wall and allowed the silence to linger. He could hear both sets of breathing, hers sounding magnified to his own ears, presumably because he knew each breath she took was precious to him. Without planning it, he pulled her towards him and pressed his lips firmly against hers, deciding if he was going to lose her - and that was a big if, only because he was going to make sure he didn't - he might as well make every moment count.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as their kiss turned into an embrace. After a few moments of heaven, Jeremy felt another pair of eyes on them and out of habit rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Damon sounded anything but. "It appears I am guilty of killing a moment."

Bonnie broke away from Jeremy to glare at Damon.

"What can we do for you?" Jeremy asked heavily. "We've searched this place top to bottom, so if you're here to second guess us, you..."

And they saw the sunken look in his eyes, the tight smile on his face, and realized whatever the reason for him being here, it wasn't to berate them for doing a half ass job (even though they'd actually done a pretty thorough job of searching).

"Made the mistake of picking up the paper this morning," Damon said slowly, chuckling to himself though there was no trace of humour to his laughter. "Guess who made the front page."

Elena's face was what greeted them. Jeremy recognized the photo as being an old school one, and the fact she was smiling in the photo made him feel worse than he'd have felt if she'd been frowning. The headline did nothing to bring him any further comfort; let's face it, the headline SCHOOLGIRL'S MALICIOUS MURDER UNDER INVESTIGATION was never going to win any points on the sensitivity front.

"But we know differently," Bonnie insisted, trying to rouse some comfort in the two worn looking guys. "She's alive."

"Yeah, but for how much longer?" Jeremy asked, his voice dripping with sadness. She ached to give him some kind of comfort. "Every day is like a freaking hourglass now, counting down to the moment where I lose my sister forever. She's with Klaus right now, and we don't know what he's doing to her."

Savagely, he kicked out at the wall and fell to his knees, succumbing to the combination of sheer frustration and despair he'd been bottling up for a long time. Gently, Bonnie dropped to her knees and held him close to her chest, sensing that was all he needed right now, to be held. She stared up at Damon who was putting on his best show face, trying to act indifferent to everything. But that was how Damon dealt with pain; by shutting himself down and that's usually about the time when stupid ideas began to form inside his head.

"Maybe we should go after her tonight," he suggested bleakly.

_And there it is,_ she thought to herself, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew he was just desperate to find her; they all were.

"Has Stefan seen the newspaper?" she asked quietly, changing the subject none too subtly.

"Nope." Damon looked away. "I figured I'd spare at least one of us from seeing her damn face all over the paper. He'll go out and do something stupid if I showed it him."

"Sounds like a familiar story," Bonnie said pointedly. "You're many things, Damon, but suicidal is not one of them. If you get killed for Elena, she'll never forgive you." "Would she even care?" Damon asked bleakly, raising an eyebrow. "She reads like a freaking mystery novel, only I gotta figure I'm never gonna find out where I actually stand with her."

"She cares, Damon," Bonnie told him firmly. "Believe me, I've known that girl a long time. She might not always have handled things the best way, but you are a piece of work. You've done a lot to her that she still has to work through. And yet despite all you've done to her, she remembers all you've done _for _her and that is why she protects you time and time again. I don't understand it, but there you go…"

Damon smirked, his composure returning.

"Didn't expect you to," he drawled. "Now, I'm going out to search for Rose. I just came in to check up on you guys."

Jeremy rose to his feet, his expression one of disbelief.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, his voice cool. "You think she's still alive?"

"Uh-huh." Damon narrowed his eyes, processing Jeremy's tone. "I don't think Klaus would've compelled her and then killed her. I think he has bigger fish to fry, better things to do."

"Why do you even care?" Bonnie asked him, not harshly. "Whether she was under compulsion or not, she's responsible for kidnapping Elena twice."

Damon hesitated by the door, unsure of his own reasons. He looked from Bonnie to Jeremy wondering if there was a vague sort of irony in their accusations. He was trusting Rose for the same reason they were trusting him; because he had to. Yet somewhere down the road, he'd let his guard down with her, and as a result he'd felt like as much as he hated the things she'd done, she was the most sincere person he'd ever come across. And she was probably just as bitter about the loss of her humanity as he was. He felt like her raw confession about going to bury Trevor had been true, yet she had been ambushed there, made to repeat a past mistake knowing she'd been abusing his trust in the process. He felt a certain responsibility towards her, almost as if she was a newborn vampire he'd created.

And, deep down, a small part of him felt like by taking care of Rose it went halfway to making up for what he'd put Vicki through. But that wasn't something he would admit, especially in front of Jeremy. So, instead, he gave a non-committal shrug and left, wishing there was at least one person in his world he could absolutely be sure of.

* * *

Lifting up her hands, Elena felt terror fill her entire body. The lack of movement startled her. She heard nothing. Then, without warning, her legs were swept out from under her, and her head went crashing to the floor. She saw at least three pairs of eyes glaring down at her.

"I'm not Katherine," she stuttered, using that fact as a means of defence, but it seemed Klaus had been right: they didn't give a damn who she was, only who she appeared to be. "Please…"

They didn't really give a damn however. Some looked hungry. Some wore expressions of indifference, although their eyes told an entirely different story. And some just looked pissed off. The first vampire reached out and grabbed her, his dark eyes panning across her face. Then he tossed her wordlessly to the rest who started to pass her around like she was a football. She had to be thankful their thoughts weren't more sinister, because this could've gone down a completely different way, yet when she found her opportunity, she foolishly tried to run away.

"You going somewhere, princess?" one leered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her in towards him.

"Yeah, what's your hurry? The fun's only just getting started," another echoed.

"You don't have your pretty necklace on. We have complete control here."

"Stop!" she shrieked, pushing past them and slamming her slim figure into the door, her fingernails scrabbling uselessly against it.

But her cries were futile. She could hear their dark laughter from behind her as they closed up on her. Sexual exploitation wasn't their intention, she could be assured of that, but she knew she wasn't going to get away unscathed. She slid down the door, frustrated sobs bursting out of her, and out of the madness came another dark surprise; a name burst from her lips as she called futilely for help. "Damon…"

Stefan, had he been here, would've been dashing these men's heads against the wall, sure, but it would've ultimately been Damon who'd have driven the stake into each of their hearts, making sure each of them suffered in turn.

Someone grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up. She could smell blood on their mouth. Teeth scrabbled against her neck, taunting her, driving fear into her heart. The throwing around started up again, with one vampire slamming her up against the wall, his large hands grabbing her hair before he flung her down and spitting bitterly on the floor.

A sound interrupted their madness, however. It was the sound of a weapon being loaded. Wary, eight heads raised themselves as one, and laughed at what they saw. Elena pushed herself to her knees, trying to see what had them all so amused. It couldn't have been good.

Peering past them, she saw a determined figure holding a crossbow, her face streaming with tears, yet her eyes contained a blazing kind of determination that can only ever be identified with protecting someone you love dearly.

"You know, I might not know anything about vampires," Jenna began slowly, deliberately, "but I know a little something about standing up to bullies." She raised the crossbow a little higher. "And I know that if you put one more hand on my niece, I'm going to kill you."

"Ooh, get the little lady," one of the vampires taunted. "Making threats are we?"

"It's not a threat," Jenna spat. "It's a promise."

In a move deliberately made to provoke her, the vampire nearest to Elena casually put his hand on Elena's shoulder, giving it a none too gentle squeeze, wearing a broad smirk on his face. Elena shuddered… and then felt her head whip up in alarm as she felt something zoom past. Her eyes scanned their way upwards, to the vampire who'd touched her, and saw he was staggering backwards, something sticking up out of his chest.

Chaos ensued. The remaining vampires rushed towards her, yet with a speed to match her opponents, Jenna reloaded the weapon and fired time after time, her aim remarkably accurate. Her intent wasn't to kill, but to maim and distract, and as the vampires - who were obviously none too bright - staggered about in clear pain, she rushed forwards, grabbing Elena's arm and pulling her back into their little prison room. She shut the door and bolted it with the one chair, before falling back onto the bed, her eyes wide with a mixture of terror and confusion, as if the adrenaline had suddenly been replaced with utter bewilderment.

"Jenna…" Elena struggled for words. "Where did that come from? I thought you were compelled."

"Yeah, well, so did that main vampire," Jenna panted, sitting back up and looking utterly alarmed at what she'd just done. "Oh, dear God, my heart is having palpitations. I may just die with shock."

Elena let out a nervous chuckle. "You were really brave," she commended, running a hand through her hair. "Really, _really_ brave."

"I've been drinking vervain for a while. I didn't know then what was in it," Jenna began to babble, eager to explain. "And then Jeremy started acting strange. He lied to me about where you'd been - course, I know why now - and then made me wear a ridiculous amount of jewellery, presumably filled with vervain, so when that Klaus guy came, he knew I'd drank the stuff, so waited until it was out of my system before telling me everything, taunting me by telling me everyone had lied to me because they didn't trust me. Oh God…" Her face whitened. "This nightmare is real. I keep pretending to myself it's not real, that I'll wake up and realize it's just a dream. A very dark dream."

"Jenna…. Jenna… Focus," Elena reminded her gently.

Jenna took a deep breath. "Right… focusing. I didn't believe him at first. But I saw the bite mark on my neck…" She gulped, all her emotions catching up to her. "And I remembered the bedtime stories your mom used to tell me about vampires. S-She made it all sound real. I just thought she was a good storyteller." She gave Elena a sorrowful look. "And the moment I found out everyone _lied_ I was so… angry. Then I got scared. When I agreed to take you and Jeremy I had no idea this is what I'd have to deal with. Vampires…and….and… monsters….and werewolves."

Elena rubbed her shoulder sympathetically.

"I'm scared too, Jenna," she admitted. "Every day, I think to myself that nothing can surprise me anymore, nothing can scare me. And then I go and prove myself wrong. Something terrifies me and I can't breathe. I forget how to breathe. But then I pull myself together and I have to deal with it. I had my chance to run away from it all and I couldn't. And there's no going back from that decision."

Jenna nodded, blinking back tears, her body swaying on the spot as if she was going to pass out or something. Instead, like a child, she buried her head against Elena's shoulder and started to break down, the nightmare of the preceding events having finally caught up with her.

"You were dead…" Jenna managed to gasp out, suddenly pushing herself up to stare into Elena's eyes. "You were dead. And yet here you are."

"I wasn't dead," Elena said slowly. "Someone wanted you to think that I was so you'd stop looking for me."

"I never started," Jenna confessed, laughing nervously. "Does that make me a bad guardian?"

"No," Elena said, hugging her tightly. "After what you did for me tonight, no one could say you were a bad guardian." She looked at her with a wry smile. "You kicked ass, Jenna!"

"I did didn't I?" Jenna smiled, a look of distinct pride in her eyes.

Elena smiled and felt her own heart start to calm down. The memory of those hands scrabbling in her direction made her want to cry. She thought about the saying _what doesn't kill you makes you stronger_ but all it did in her case was make her worn out. She was tired of being chased, of being hounded, and sometimes she had to wonder if her desire for it all to be over referred to the nightmare of Klaus's presence, or to her own life.

She could certainly understand Damon and Stefan's concerns with her. Sometimes, even she was frightened by her own thoughts.

* * *

Damon sped around the woods looking for some sort of clue. Impatience was another flaw of his; he had no time to comb every bit of the woods searching for… Well, he wasn't going to lie to himself; he knew he was looking for a body. The chances of Rose being alive were, frankly, slim. But he knew he had to find her, if not because she was just as lost as he was when it came to figuring out what to do, but because he knew he couldn't judge her on the bad choices she'd made, when he'd made a lot of bad choices himself.

He eventually stumbled upon her lying against a tree. She was still alive, much to his shock, but there was a stake near her heart. If he moved her, the stake would plunge in. As fast as he was, he didn't think he could move her without killing her. He wasn't stupid; Rose had been left alive, in this position, because Klaus was trying to send a message.

"Hey," he crooned, trying to catch her attention. "It's me."

She looked up at him with bleary eyes. She looked…ill. Her face was an ash grey and her eyes looked vacant. He reached down and grabbed her hand, sensing that was about the only movement he was going to be able to get away with. He resisted the urge to flinch as he felt how cold her hands were, instead focusing on making sure she knew he was there.

"Damon," she murmured. "Hey…."

"What's wrong with you?" he quipped, trying to implant humour where there was none. "Cold?"

"Feels like the flu," she croaked, stirring a little.

"What happened?" Damon demanded.

"Klaus ambushed me after I buried Trevor," she murmured, clearly unable to keep herself focused. "He made me take Elena and then got a witch to put a spell on me."

"What was the spell?"

"In lieu of a full moon, he had to improvise," Rose muttered. "The witch recreated the effects of a werewolf bite on me. It actually kills," she added, finally meeting his eyes. "He put me like this and told me to tell you something."

He stroked the back of her hand.

"What's that?"

"He said to tell you that if you try and get Elena back, your brother is next," she said, looking sorrowfully at him.

Damon closed his eyes, expecting as much. He also knew why Klaus had done this; he'd set up Rose's death, yet had handed the role of executioner to Damon, as a way of subtly reminding him who was in charge. It was either let Rose's death be dragged out painfully, or end her pain.

"I suck, don't I?" Rose asked, staring at the slowly growing night sky.

"Isn't that the point of a vampire?" Damon couldn't resist quipping.

She laughed softly. "True…"

"I'm the bad one," he told her. "I'm going to have to kill you and I don't know if I can. I think I suck more than you at this point."

"You can." Rose put her hand on top of his. "The ability to kill is in our nature, Damon. I deserve to die. I've got nothing left for me here." Her eyes rolled onto his. "Thank you, Damon."

"For what?" he asked, his expression uncertain.

She smiled. "You were looking for me. Somewhere down the line, you decided you cared about me. And that means more to me than I can ever say."

And she let out a violent cough, one which had the stake moving dangerously close towards her. Damon could see a branch was propping it up. A branch with a spell on it, no doubt. Carefully, he took the stake off the branch and toyed with it, wondering whether if Elena had been in this kind of pain whether it would've been easier for him to put her out of it. Was he really torturing himself over killing her because it was Rose, or because the instinct to kill didn't seem to be there anymore?

"What's the pain like?" he asked, morbidly curious.

"Like a thousand knives are stabbing me," she replied bluntly. "My lungs feel like they're on fire and my eyes keep watering like mad." She closed her eyes. "Please. I need it to be over." Her back arched in pain as another round of coughing interrupted her. "I'll count to five."

Her lips mouthed Trevor's name and a dizzy smile fell on her face. He wondered whether that's who she was seeing. He poised the stake over her heart and bit his lip, hating himself for this. He hated Klaus for giving him yet another difficult choice in the process - Elena, or his brother?

"One…." Rose murmured, in between raspy breaths.

"Two," he whispered brokenly, wondering why he even cared.

"Three," she muttered, her eyes moving wildly about, a look of hazy confusion resting there, as if she'd already forgotten what it was she was counting down to.

"Four."

"Five…" They said it simultaneously.

Damon brought down the stake and plunged it into her heart. Two fat tears loomed in his eyes but he fought them back. _I'm done with emotions_. He rose to his feet and stared ahead at the darkness, seeing all the faces of the people he cared about. They were mocking him.

He was angry because he didn't knew he cared about Rose.

He was scared because he had no idea what was happening to Elena.

He was irritated by the lack of a decent plan.

Most of all, however, he felt lost. He was reminiscent of that little lost boy who'd trailed after his father and his younger brother as they went hiking together, his eyes downcast at the fact that there was a bond between the latter two that he would never have. Because Stefan had everything and he had nothing; only bitterness and a desperate hope that things could change.

Unlike his brother, he wasn't optimistic. Merely realistic. He was the kind of person who could open up a book and figure out the ending by the third or fourth page. Real life was no different. He saw exactly how this would all end. Someone would die and he'd be blamed, and whatever progress he and Elena had made would disintegrate. Somehow, Elena expected him to be able to protect everyone. It wasn't like he wasn't trying, but he had to deal with his own losses too. There were people he cared about too.

And tonight, the number of people he chose to care about had diminished by one.

* * *

Bonnie stood outside the house, her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to make heads and tails of everything. Seeing Elena's face on the front of a newspaper had made her insides go cold, and secretly she still felt like vomiting, but she had to remain strong. She didn't want Damon to see her as weak, not now they'd come to a strange kind of understanding.

"Bonnie?" a familiar voice called her name.

She turned, her eyes narrowing with confusion. Someone stepped out of the shadows and she gave a half smile in recognition, raising her hand and giving a little wave.

"Luka," she greeted. "How did you find me?"

"How do you think?" Luka asked, grinning.

"Oh… You're psychic?" Bonnie asked teasingly.

"Funny…" He rolled his eyes. "I take it you know I'm not just here for a friendly chat, right?"

"I gathered that," she conceded, stepping forwards. "How can I help you?"

He seemed to struggle for words, as though even in his mind he wasn't sure why exactly he was here. Bonnie liked Luka. He seemed to have a chilled attitude towards magic, rather like you'd expect. She, however, constantly struggled with it, afraid one day she'd push herself too far and break.

"I'm here because I know what you need to do to kill Klaus," he said slowly. "Only… you're not going to like it."

She frowned, suddenly intrigued.

"Why?" she asked, a part of her wondering if she even wanted to know. "It can't be that bad can it?"

"I presume you know about channelling?" Luka asked, studying her carefully.

"I learned about it in the Grimoire, yes," she said, nodding. "I've found I learned a lot just by reading the bits which aren't spells."

"Same," he replied, chuckling. "I've grown up knowing who I am, whereas you I gather are a newbie."

"Somewhat of a newbie," she said defensively. "I'm getting there."

"Based on what I saw you do the other night, I don't doubt that," he told her earnestly. "Channelling, as you saw then, makes you share the load so that you don't cause as much damage to yourself. Channelling with one can make you do a lot but imagine channelling the power of hundreds."

"I see where you're going with this." Bonnie nodded.

"You do?"

"That's exactly what I was trying to explain to Jeremy," she said, motioning towards the house. "He isn't keen on the plan. I mean, I know there's the question of finding a site where hundreds of dead witches were burned alive, but once we do? Well I could channel enough power to kill Klaus. Surely that's a good thing?"

"It is," Luka affirmed. "And it's the only way to kill Klaus."

"How do you know all this?" Bonnie had to ask, her face filled with wonder and incredulity.

"Elijah," Luka admitted. "Me and my dad were working with him. Despite what you might think, he's not a bad guy. He's working against Klaus."

"No…" Bonnie shook her head angrily. "He took Elena! He was bringing her to Klaus! He told her as much! Elena wouldn't lie about the way he treated her, she wouldn't!"

"The way he treated Elena was an act," Luka told her quietly. "He was deliberately trying to lure Klaus out of hiding, trying to lure him to a spot just outside Mystic Falls. Klaus and Elijah have known each other a long time. They've been on the outs for a long time too. Elijah was trying to make it appear as though a reconciliation was on the cards by bringing the doppelganger, and the only way to do was make sure Elena played her role."

There was a moment's pause.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not convinced he's the good guy," Bonnie said, looking as though she sincerely regretted saying hello to Luka.

"All he was going to do was take her to a predetermined destination and keep her there until Klaus had arrived. Klaus has always had the other ingredients for the sacrifice ritual, minus the doppelganger. They would wait for the full moon and then, when Klaus was in transition, Elijah was going to kill him, because that's the moment when he'll be at his most vulnerable."

"During transition?" Bonnie had picked up the key words. "That implies…"

"Elena has to die, Bonnie," Luka said solemnly, looking intensely regretful. "When the sacrifice is complete, Klaus will be vulnerable and that's when he'll need to be destroyed."

"Is there a problem out here?" Jeremy asked, stepping forwards, his face looking intensely confused.

"Get him away from me," Bonnie said, her voice shaking.

"You're not stupid, Bonnie," Luka called, as Jeremy instinctively stepped in front of her, his fists clenched. "There is no way to defeat Klaus without a sacrifice of some sort! If you've read about channelling, then you know the dangers of channelling too much power."

"Stop it!" she yelled, looking scared and angry.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jeremy demanded, looking from Luka to Bonnie with confusion.

"Bonnie has to be the one to ultimately kill Klaus," Luka told Jeremy. "Or at least that's what she's telling herself. She knows what'll happen if she tries to take on Klaus all by herself with that much power. It'll kill her."

"I know the risks!" Bonnie fumed. "I'm not stupid, Luka. You said it yourself that it's the only way to kill Klaus."

"Yes, but I'm trying to make sure you don't get involved," Luka argued fiercely. "I care about you, Bonnie."

"Why? You barely know me."

"Because we share a connection, Bonnie," he explained. "We both have power half the time we don't know what to do with. We witches and warlocks instinctively look out for our own. It's what we've always done. I'm telling you what to expect because I don't want you to be unprepared."

"So you're telling me my best friend has to die in order to kill Klaus, but I don't get to be the one to take that bastard down?" Bonnie looked incredulous. "Are you even hearing yourself right now?"

"Elena _has_ to die?" Jeremy repeated faintly. "What?"

"She's been marked, Bonnie," Luka told her sadly. "She's a Petrova doppelganger, she's always been marked. If I knew a way to save her, do you think I wouldn't tell you it?" Bonnie felt her eyes flood with tears and she barely registered stepping forward and slapping Luka hard. Jeremy's arms wrapped around her, gently pulling her away, her torn feelings showing on her face.

"You're wrong," she said quietly. "Elena won't be dying. Not on my watch." She inhaled deeply, trying to keep calm. "I get why you worked with Elijah; he was your ticket to getting your sister back. But I don't get why you'd try and befriend _me_. She's my best friend and you were going to just let her be sacrificed just as a means to an end." She backed away. "Stay away from me, Luka. I mean it."

And she stormed off inside, leaving a very awkward Jeremy and Luka outside together.

"I was just trying to be honest," Luka said, raising his arms helplessly. "I wanted her to know everything before she went and killed herself trying to take down Klaus. You understand that, right?"

"I understand a lot of things," Jeremy said slowly. "I understand why my sister had my memory erased. I understand that Damon can be both bad and good. But I don't understand how you can take away her hope like that. There's always another way."

"I wish there was," Luka said, looking away. "Believe me, I don't like the idea of losing Bonnie anymore than you do. I'd gladly take her place only…"

"You're leaving Mystic Falls," Jeremy guessed, closing his eyes.

"Uh-huh," Luka said, biting his lip. "I thought I owed her one last visit, just so I could explain everything."

"Well, you did." Jeremy's tone went ice cold very quickly. "And now I have to repair the damage. I think it's best if you leave."

Luka nodded, already backing away.

"You're smart from what Bonnie tells me of you," he said finally. "You have smart friends too. I know how special this Elena girl must be to have so many people fighting to save her life, but you've got to look at the bigger picture here. I'm talking about the greater good here, Jeremy. You've got a chance to kill Klaus here. If you screw it up, there's no chance of a second try. It's now or never. You've got to think about what's more important: saving Elena, or killing Klaus."

And with those final ominous words, he disappeared, leaving a conflicted Jeremy standing on the porch to dwell on his words. He scrunched his eyes, fighting back a wave of anger, before retreating inside, slamming the door shut as he did so.

* * *

**A/n: Sorry for the delay in posting. I've just had to reconsider some things with this story. I've kept it more or less in canon with the plot on the show because I want this to be realistic… Well, realistic in terms of the show lol. Elijah will re-emerge in the next chapter, with an interesting offer, and Jeremy and Bonnie get a few things straightened out. Tune in and keep reviewing ;) Jenna may seem OOC here but I think certain situations like that push you into doing something you wouldn't think yourself capable of. Reading this back, Rose's death is horribly written but I couldn't really fit her in the story, plus it opens up some new emotions for Damon to explore. Needless to say, like on the show her death will have a big impact on him. I'll say no more until then. **

**Oh and if a certain SOMEONE dies on the show, I won't spoil it for anyone, I will be pissed off. And probably very sad. And will not want to watch any show ever again. :P **


	25. Dance With The Devil

_Chapter 25: Dance With The Devil_

* * *

"So, how does one deal with knowing their boyfriend is a vampire?" Jenna mused, her hands still shaking from the adrenaline rush she'd endured trying to pull Elena from the vampire ambush.

"Ex-boyfriend," Elena corrected, her eyes downcast. "We decided to break up."

"It's because of Damon isn't it?" Jenna guessed shrewdly.

"In part, yes, but I'm still trying to work out what I feel for him," Elena explained. "I still love Stefan. So much. But there's so much about us that'll never work. I guess we were just too good to be true."

Jenna shuffled her way along the bed to wrap an arm around Elena, allowing her niece's head to fall against hers. They sat there for a moment, in silence, absorbing their own thoughts. Elena felt Jenna shaking against her and threw her arms around her aunt, so they were locked in an embrace, something they'd not shared for a long time. The contact felt nice.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, Elena?" Jenna asked, her voice trembling. "And don't feed me any trite about protecting me."

"That was the main reason, Jenna," Elena told her. "It's bad enough I have to live through this crap day after day. I figured it would've been nice if at least someone I loved stayed out of this mess." She shrugged helplessly. "I lied to you because I love you. It's the same reason I got Damon to make Jeremy forget about Vicki, the same reason I lied to Bonnie and Caroline on a daily basis, the same reason I fight every single day to keep my friends out of this dark world. Should've figured you'd claw your way in. Everyone else did."

"Ladies," a familiar voice purred softly, alarming them both.

Jenna stifled a shriek and went for the crossbow, firing it pointlessly at Klaus, who didn't even batter as much as an eyelid. He gazed curiously at the arrow sticking out at him, before removing it without showing an ounce of pain and flinging it to the side.

"I'm pleased you have some fire in you," he told Jenna. "It's convinced me even more my purpose in bringing you here was correct."

"What do you want with me?" Jenna breathed, her tone bordering on hysteria. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I trust Elena's filled you in with the sacrifice details," Klaus said, circling the two wary women. "The process requires a witch." He lifted up his thumb. "Check. It also requires the doppelganger." He smiled at Elena, who shuddered. "Check. We also need a werewolf." His smile faded. "Unfortunately, due to the stupidity of the Salvatores, the werewolf part of the equation is still missing, but I'm told the Lockwood's son - Tyler, is it? - is a werewolf. And the final part of the equation, my dear," he directed this at Jenna, "is a vampire. Now, my lot are expendable, true, but why use one of them when I have you?"

"No!" Elena yelled. "Leave Jenna out of it. You have me."

"Elena…" Jenna shook her head, words failing her. "I'm not letting anything happen to you."

"I'm the stupid doppelganger," Elena growled. "This is my mess. Why should you be a part of it?"

"I screwed up as a guardian," Jenna murmured, looking less frightened and more sad. "I can't screw up as your aunt. I have to do what's best, and that means staying and fighting for you."

"Listen to your aunt, Elena," Klaus taunted, enjoying the drama. "She speaks sense."

Elena didn't even think. Her blood was boiling and, had she been a cartoon, steam would've been coming out her ears. She stood up and made to shove Klaus, who anticipated her move and twisted her arms just in time, resulting in a large cracking sound echoing around the room.

A twisted shriek escaped Elena's mouth, who fell to the floor, her face a picture of agony. Jenna watched on in horror, unable to think, unable to react.

"You broke my arms?" Elena shrieked.

"No. I broke one arm," Klaus corrected. "I'm not that sadistic, although it does amuse me, the idea of you being unable to do anything."

"Bastard!" Jenna yelled, her face bright red. "You enjoy torturing girls do you? You enjoy inflicting misery and pain and suffering?"

"I'm a vampire, so, yes." Klaus's grin broadened, as he lowered his head so it was only inches away from Jenna. "I can always make you compliant if the freedom I've given you isn't good enough for you. Honestly," he rose upwards, "some people are just so ungrateful."

A sobbing Elena clutched her broken arm, pain shattering her body. She couldn't think through the pain, it was that bad. She could only really relate the pain to the pain she'd felt when she'd fallen sideways whilst sliding down the banister, landing on her arm and severely bruising it, along with fracturing her wrist. This, however, was worse.

"I could give you my blood, heal you," Klaus said, gazing down at her with cruel indifference. "But where would be the fun in that?"

"The sacrifice…" Elena spluttered, trying to offer up a defence for that argument.

Klaus shrugged.

"The sacrifice doesn't require you to be in peak physical condition," he told her. "Although, it does help if your blood is as healthy as it can be, seeing how I will be dining on it."

A cross between a whimper and a snarl escaped Jenna's lips. Elena, still shaking wildly, her face a shade of white paper would've found it hard to beat, merely looked numb. She was relieved, in one respect, that he wouldn't drag out her death after all. From the sounds of it, what he was required to do was to drain her dry.

Klaus watched her as she attempted to get up but, like Bambi in the film, she buckled and her head went crashing onto the floor. She felt so pathetic, so weak, and it killed her that she couldn't do more to help Jenna.

"Katherine had more fire in her," Klaus said, his voice cold, every bit of amusement gone. "This is why I despise humans. You're all so weak. So pathetic. Your only argument against complete annihilation is love, something only a fool treasures, so when your race comes crashing into extinction, you all will realize love didn't save you. You won't be around when that day comes, obviously, but I hope when the day comes when I destroy the Petrova line for good, you will realize everything you did was in vain."

Elena was silence by the sheer cruelty of this monster. She always tried to see the good and bad in people, but in him all she could see was greed and hatred and evil. She cradled her arm to her chest and looked away, the pain taking priority in her mind.

"You should know the sacrifice takes place tonight," Klaus announced.

"There's no full moon tonight," Jenna shot at him, having listened intently to Elena's explanation.

"True," Klaus conceded. "But as dear Elena here once pointed out, waiting for the real thing to occur means there's a wide period of time for the Salvatores to swoop in and wreck the actual process. I've delayed it once. I won't do it again."

"How are you going to make a full moon happen?" Elena asked suspiciously. "It's impossible."

"Not for a witch."

"Witches are supposed to be the protectors of nature. They're supposed to keep the balance of it, not change it whenever they feel like it!" Elena snapped. "Do you know what that'll do, changing the moon's cycle? It'll affect oceans all over the world. It'll cause floods and tsunamis. You'll change the entire course of nature!"

"Good. It's about time nature served me rather than the other way around," was Klaus's callous reply.

He went to the doorway, flashing Elena and Jenna a smirk before promptly exiting. Jenna couldn't speak; her eyes were wide, fearful, and it took her a few moments before she could react to any of it. She slid onto the floor and helped Elena to a sitting position.

"It hurts…" Elena moaned.

"Wait." Jenna went over to the bed. "I think I can improvise."

She tore up one of the sheets and started to fashion something out of it. Elena watched with awe as Jenna made the sheets into a sling, unable to understand how her aunt had remained so calm.

"I've had to make a few of these before," Jenna admitted sheepishly. "A few college buds of mine had accidents they didn't want to go to the hospital for so I had to fashion some slings."

She gently managed to loop the sling around Elena, extremely careful not to make any sudden movements which would make the break even worse. Once the sling was in pain, she unexpectedly leaned forward and kissed the top of Elena's head.

"I'm scared," she whispered, the fear showing in her eyes. "I know I'm supposed to be the brave one but…"

"It's okay to be scared, Jenna. I'm terrified too," Elena admitted. "But we have more pressing problems. We need Stefan and Damon to know the sacrifice goes down tonight. We need a way of getting them a message."

"But how? We're trapped in here."

Elena hoisted herself up a little further, wincing as a fresh batch of pain charged at her.

"I don't know," she admitted, looking distressed. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

"No."

"Damon…."

"It's a stupid plan, Stefan. It has stupidity written all over it. In fact, the stupid factory just called and rejected it, it's THAT stupid."

Stefan scowled, unimpressed by Damon's attitude.

"I'm trying here," he protested. "It's an idea. Consider it at least."

"He's not going to want to _trade_," Damon spat. "He has Jenna there to make sure Elena behaves. Look, we've got time to figure out a better plan, so let's not lose our heads here."

"If he has me, I have a better chance at rescuing Elena, and Jenna will be safe," Stefan explained.

"He won't keep you in the same room as her, are you that thick? He'll keep you in some dark chamber, chained up so you don't do anything stupid," Damon told him bluntly. "And I won't let you risk your life for a suicidal plan which has about a three percent shot at working."

Stefan felt frustrated. Damon was shooting down every plan he came up with. At first, he thought it was because Damon was just being arrogant, waiting until the ample moment to reveal a better plan and look like the hero. But he noticed the numb look in Damon's eyes and realized maybe it went deeper than that.

His brother refused to talk about Rose's death, merely shrugging it off as being just another fatality in the road to war. But he'd cared about her, Stefan knew that. Hiding his emotions was just something Damon did, which would be all well and good if it wasn't for the fact he knew his brother well enough to remember when Damon blocked his emotions, they usually festered quietly inside him until something triggered them and he exploded.

"Gentlemen, you seem to be going around in circles," a smooth, unfamiliar voice called. "Perhaps I can help."

Stefan and Damon slowly rotated, their eyes widening in recognition as the visitor stepped out of the shadows. Damon instinctively made to launch himself at their unwanted guest, but Stefan stopped him, sensing it was futile to attack.

"What are you doing here?" Damon snarled.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the tomb?" Stefan demanded.

"The spell on that tomb was lifted," Elijah replied airily. "I escaped. There's nothing to it. I'm here to propose something to you, something that will aid your rescue mission."

"Not interested," Damon announced, making the motion to leave except Stefan stopped him again. "Let me go, Stefan. I have no interest in hearing anything he has to say."

"It's worth hearing him out at least," Stefan said firmly. "Seeing how you wouldn't consider my plan."

With a heavy, childish sigh, Damon turned, folding his arms and glaring at Elijah with intense hatred.

"Just to be clear, this is for Elena," he warned, looking from Stefan to Elijah. "If this proves to be nothing but a joke, I will rip you to shreds."

"I'd love to see you try, considering I am an Original," Elijah replied, his voice thick with amusement. "Anyway, my proposal is simply offering you my assistance in rescuing Elena."

"Rescuing her? You were going to hand her over to Klaus yourself!"

"That's what I wanted it to look like," Elijah admitted. "I was hoping to lure Klaus out and then kill him myself. I thought news of the doppelganger would make him surface."

"So you used her." Damon looked disgusted.

"I'm offering my assistance in exchange for letting me finish Klaus off myself," Elijah said, looking grim. "Too long has he plagued this earth with his presence."

"How's he rattled your cage? Made fun of your hair?" Damon taunted.

"Hardly." Elijah looked unaffected by the remark. "He took away my family and I wish to make him pay. Revenge, retribution, justice, dress it up as you may, but that's why I'm offering my help. You can't do this without me and I can't do it without you."

"Us?" Stefan asked, surprised.

"You have a witch who I believe is keen on helping take down Klaus, do you not?"

"He's good," Stefan murmured to Damon. "Knows his audience."

"Humph." Damon looked unimpressed. "I've yet to hear this amazing plan of yours."

"You know what your problem is, Damon?" Elijah enquired quietly. "You have no faith whatsoever. And, really, without me all you'll end up doing is attempting a feeble ambush which will get you all killed."

"We have Bonnie," Damon snarled. "We're not completely helpless you know."

"No," Elijah conceded. "But until she gains enough power to take on Klaus with, she's just as helpless as you. Klaus will be prepared and he will be strong enough to take you all down without batting an eyelid. To underestimate him would be both a foolish and suicidal move."

Damon and Stefan exchanged a wary look.

"How do you know so much about him?" Stefan enquired.

"Never you mind," Elijah told him shortly. "We both are Originals, so we go way back. I know most of his moves, his techniques, so having me as an ally is a prudent investment."

Investment? Damon wondered where they were still talking about killing Klaus, or managing the stock market. He could see from his brother's face he was seriously considering accepting Elijah's help. Sighing irritably, he began to churn out the pros and cons of accepting Elijah's help in his head. So far, he could think of more cons than pros but, in lieu of any other options, he couldn't really see what other choice they had. The main reason for this sudden change in attitude was if something happened to Elena, and Elijah could've been the key in saving her, well, he'd never forgive himself.

"So, what's your move? Your plan?" he asked sharply. "Considering we are on borrowed time, we need to get a move on if we're going to help Elena."

"The next full moon isn't for twenty odd days but, if I know Klaus, he won't want to wait that long," Elijah said, beginning to prowl around the room, picking up the odd item before setting it back down. "He'll have a witch who can speed up the process."

"Impossible," Damon denounced.

"It's a little unheard of, but there's records of the spell being used," Stefan contested, looking intensely unhappy. "In the earlier days, vampires had witches speed up the process to reveal the werewolves, made it easier for them to wipe them out."

"Well, someone's done their homework," Damon mocked.

"This is being unproductive," Elijah pointed out, brushing himself down, a pointless gesture which irritated Damon. "I can reveal the location where the witches all were burned but, in return, I need your co-operation. I need you to give my word you'll do what I say, no matter how strange the request may seem. I'm your only chance to defeat Klaus."

"Do what you say…" Damon was furious. "Why I ought to - !"

"Let him do it," a new voice entered the room.

They turned to see Bonnie there, her eyes taking in Elijah's appearance. She stepped forwards, the exhaustion clear in her eyes. Doing non-stop magic was killing her, they could all see it, and she needed that extra power.

"I need to know that location so I can get all that power," she said. "And, let's face it, we need all the help we can get."

"You people are insane." Damon looked frustrated. "It's one thing agreeing to let him help, but to let him order us about? There's always another way. There has to be."

"You heard what he said about Klaus being able to speed up the full moon," Bonnie told him wearily. "We don't have much time to get Elena back you guys. This is our one shot to do this right. If we fail, that's it. We lose Elena and this entire town will be the first to be destroyed."

Damon considered her for a moment.

"Sabrina does paint a vivid picture doesn't she?" he said to Stefan, his expression one of deliberation. "Alright then. You have our word we'll do what you say."

"Excellent." Elijah didn't smile, but his eyes became considerably warmer. "First things first, the witch and I will need to take a short road trip. Not far, mind, but we need her to be at full strength immediately."

"I'm coming with you," Damon said immediately.

"Oh?" Elijah tilted his head, looking speculative. "You still don't trust me."

"I trust you to help if you know what's good for you," Damon retorted. "But, yeah, I don't trust you around her. So I'm coming."

Bonnie's eyes widened with surprise, then uncertainty, wondering what angle Damon was working from. His eyes fell onto hers and he gave her a nod of comradeship. Still confused, she nodded back, wondering whether Damon actually did give a damn about her, or whether this was just another act. Either way, he'd taken her completely by surprise.

"Fine," Elijah said coolly. "It doesn't really make a difference whether you're there or not. By all means, tag along."

Damon scowled but had to bite back his anger. He gave Stefan a meaningful look and the two of them walked out of the room, out of the house until they were a reasonable distance away.

"So, what do you think?" Damon cut to the chase. "Is he honourable?"

"He certainly seems old school," Stefan mused. "And he is our only chance to kill Klaus. He's an Original too, so he'll know the mindset of one."

"He's not giving us the full story," Damon said, recalling Elijah's shifty look when they'd asked about his relationship with Klaus. "He's hiding something. Something big."

"Well, we haven't time to ask him," Stefan replied, looking impatient. "I think I'm going to find John and Isobel. See what they know."

"That'll be as productive as getting blood from a stone."

"I know." Stefan looked dejected. "But I have to try."

"If this goes to hell, and I've got a gut feeling it will," Damon warned, "we do this my way. Deal?"

Stefan nodded. "Deal."

* * *

Elena leaned her head against the side of the bed, feeling inexplicably frustrated. She was missing her friends. Hell, she was missing Damon. His snarky comments would've at least given her a distraction. Racking her brains for a way to convey to her friends tonight was going to be the night of the sacrifice wasn't exactly a sufficient distraction from both the terror and the pain of her broken arm.

Still her main concern rested with Jenna. As far as Klaus was concerned, she was dispensable. It was the doppelganger he'd be watching closely. If she could get Jenna out, maybe she could get Jenna to deliver the message instead. Only problem was how could she smuggle Jenna out without implicating them both? There was no discernible way of leaving the room, other than the front door, and that was a no-no considering there was a hefty vampire on the other side of it.

Still, she gathered her thoughts as best she could and tried to figure a way. Jenna was lying on the bed, pretending to sleep, only her body was too tense to pull that off. Elena allowed her to carry on pretending; what was the point of depriving her aunt of anything when it was her fault she was in this mess in the first place?

Then she remembered something. Her diary entry. She retrieved the papers from her jeans and tried to find a bit that hadn't been written on. If what she'd written fell into the wrong hands - that could've applied to Damon, Stefan, even Bonnie - she would never be able to live it down. But she could worry about that lately. Tearing a bit off, she scrawled something down and then bunched it up.

"Jenna?" she hissed, which made her aunt jump in alarm. "Come here."

Jenna was by her side immediately, looking concerned.

"What's going on?"

Elena wordlessly passed her a piece of paper, tapping her ear and pointing to the door before pressing a finger to her lip. She then mouthed the words 'ask to go to the bathroom', before motioning towards the paper now in Jenna's hand.

Jenna nodded and rose, every limb cracking from lack of use. She knocked on the door, quickly stuffing the paper in the back of her jeans, as she mentally prepared herself for her task.

The door opened a fraction, the vampire who'd been guarding it glaring through the crack.

"Yes?"

"I need to go the bathroom," Jenna said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please."

There was a grunt before the door widened a bit more.

"Isaac will take you," the man told her, motioning to a dark haired, dark skinned man just down the hall. "No tricks, though. Just to make sure you behave, I will be in this room with your friend."

"She's my niece," Jenna snapped. "And you won't hurt her."

"I'm forbidden to kill her, yes," the man conceded. "But that doesn't mean I can't break her other arm. Or maybe a leg. Boss said not to spill a drop of her blood; he never mentioned anything about not breaking some bones."

Jenna closed her eyes, as if hoping this nightmare would just disappear. Then, looking at Elena, she took courage and followed Isaac down the hall. He stopped outside the shabbiest of doors and gestured for her to go in.

"I hear one sound I don't like, I'm calling the boss and he can deal with your niece himself," he warned. "Understand?"

"I'm only peeing," Jenna said sarcastically. "Can't see the harm in that myself."

For one dark moment, Isaac looked as though he was going to hit her, but then thought better of it. He shoved her inside and she shut the door quickly, retrieving the note Elena had scrawled. There was a small window just above the sink which, lucky for her, was already open. She stood on the toilet and shoved the note out through the window, turning the taps on before hand so it sounded like she was peeing (Ric was right; she really did watch too many espionage/action flicks).

She didn't what good it would do, or if it even would reach anyone. But she had faith in Elena and she carried about a miniscule bit of hope that maybe this nightmare would all be over soon.

* * *

Bonnie went to her car to get ready to go with Elijah and Damon on their little mission, when a sudden pair of hands grabbed her and whirled her around. She let out a wild gasp of surprise before she saw John Gilbert, of all people, standing there.

"You're Bonnie Bennett, right?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. You have seen me before, Mr Gilbert," Bonnie said, staring at him with mild dislike. "What can I do for you?"

"You're the witch right?"

"I prefer being called Bonnie, but yeah, witch works too."

John steered her away, his eyes darting back and forth in the direction of the Boarding House.

"There's a good chance Elena's going to die," he told her. "The Salvatores will try and rescue her, I don't doubt it, but they're up against a thousand year old vampire here. I can't take any chances. So, I want you to do a spell for me."

Bonnie blinked at him, not expecting that at all.

"What kind of spell?"

He took out a page of a journal and gave it to her to read. She scanned through it carefully, her eyes frowning as she reached a certain part.

"I can do this, but it'll have to wait until after I gain the witches' power," she said carefully. "But you do know you will - "

"I know." John looked exhausted, which indicated this idea had taken its toll on him. "But it's the only thing left I can give her. I've been a horrible father figure to her, and I know this won't make it up to her, but it's a start."

Bonnie felt sympathy stir inside her.

"You know if you'd been straight with her from the start, you might have been able to make it work with her," she told him softly.

"I know." John rubbed his forehead. "I've not told Isobel because she'll only talk me out of it but it's the only way I can be assured she'll survive. It was all for her, you know. I've tried to protect her, only she's never needed protecting. She has the two best bodyguards I could ask for."

"Why, thank you, John," Damon said cheekily, sauntering forwards. "If it helps, I think you're swell too. It's just a shame you've got a lack of a likeable personality otherwise we'd get on like a house on fire."

"Damon," Bonnie said reprovingly. "Believe it or not, he's here to help."

"I highly doubt that, but then again you're not the first person with questionable intentions offering their help," Damon said, his tone snarky.

"If something happens to Elena on your watch, I will hold you personally responsible, make no mistake about it," John warned. "I'm trusting you and Stefan to do what you can to save her."

"And we will, sunshine, don't worry," Damon said, restraining the urge to roll his eyes. "We have a plan."

"You have your plan and I have mine," John replied, his voice thick with coldness. "Ensure yours doesn't screw up, and maybe there's no need for mine." He turned to Bonnie. "I'll be in touch soon."

She nodded, exchanging looks with Damon, who was trying to scrutinise what was going on between them and so, discreetly, she tucked away the page of the journal, her eyes on John as he walked away. She admired what John was doing, but it could only lead to more heartbreak for Jeremy and Elena and she was trying to spare them that.

"You ready, princess?" Damon asked her, his voice turning serious.

"Uh-huh," she replied. "Let's do this."

Suddenly, Elijah came running up to them, his normally calm composure in tatters. He looked frustrated, which didn't bode well for Bonnie or Damon.

"What now?" Damon sighed.

"This." Elijah retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket. "One of my associates, who was surveying the place we believe is where Klaus is keeping your Elena, discovered this."

Damon took the paper cautiously, instinctively recognizing Elena's distinct handwriting. What he saw on the paper made his composure shatter alongside Elijah's.

_Sacrifice takes place tonight. Klaus has a witch who can make a full moon happen. Come soon but get Jenna out first. Elena. _

"Damn it!" was Damon's reaction to the note, before his cool façade completely melted, giving way to sheer terror.

Unless he thought fast, came up with something monumentally good, it was probable tonight he was going to lose Elena forever. And his brain couldn't cope with that, much less his heart.

"Right." He inhaled deeply. "This is what's going to happen. We are going to go to that burial site and on the way you are going to tell me what you're hiding from us," he said, directing this at Elijah. "Bonnie will take Klaus down and you'll finish him off. And I swear to God, anyway who doesn't pull their weight is going to find themselves on the other end of a stake, vampire or otherwise."

Elijah looked at him, faintly impressed. Bonnie was reading the note with horror, her eyes searching for John in the darkness.

"We've got only a few hours, so let's go!" Damon snapped. "Chop, chop!"

And, with that, they all slid into Bonnie's car and raced off, aware they were living on borrowed time now. Everything was happening tonight. No more delays. And it scared the living shit out of Damon, he didn't mind saying.

* * *

**A/n: Thanks for the reviews. Keep them up. A lot goes down next chapter but it might not necessarily be the sacrifice. I'm still building it up lol. Alaric reappears next chapter, as does Cat, with a hidden agenda. And someone's life is changed forever, so look forward to that. **

**Also, a delayed reaction, but YAYYYYYYYYYYY! DAMON'S ALIVE! :D I'm so happy. Well, we don't know the cure worked, but I don't think they'd kill him off. Still YAAYYYYY! **


	26. The Devil You Know

_Chapter 26: The Devil You Know_

* * *

Shelved in the back, like some long forgotten object, Damon sulked as he eyed Elijah and Bonnie, the former of which had completely ignored the rules of shotgun, insisting it would be better if he sat in the front to give directions, to which Bonnie had agreed. He felt out of the loop here, although he'd never give Elijah the satisfaction of knowing something had dissatisfied him.

During their brief ride, Elijah decided to spill the beans on his story, something which decidedly took up his interest and stopped him from sulking for too long.

"Klaus and I are brothers," he began, averting his gaze. "In name, only. Let me assure you I have no desire to tie myself in any other way to him. His actions have cost me my family, my life, and other…inconsequential matters."

Damon may have just been imagining it, but he had a feeling the emphasis placed on the last two words Elijah had spoken were anything but inconsequential. Without even knowing Elijah's story, he could predict what had undone him, and many other men before him, because it was completely predictable – love. But, aware there were only so many hours left to them, he decided, for once, to bite back a sarcastic response and let the man tell his story.

"He scattered my families' bodies across the sea like they were nothing to him, like they had no value to him. What disturbs me the most is that I shall never get to pay them the respects they are owed, and for that I can never forgive him," Elijah spoke, his voice silky smooth as he weaved out his life story. "Klaus and I, we were once as close as you and Stefan are. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him."

"See, perhaps what is the most important point to drive home here is the Sun and the Moon curse doesn't exist. It was a fake curse made up by myself and Klaus, using a mixture of half-truths and legend to give it some authenticity, a degree of believability."

"The curse is fake?" Damon repeated, his voice seeping with anger. "So, all of this is for nothing?"

"I didn't say there wasn't a curse," Elijah corrected steely. "There is one. Just… not that one. The real curse is placed on Klaus. Due to an infidelity on the part of our mother, Klaus is part of a werewolf bloodline."

"But he's a vampire," Damon stated, rather pointlessly. "You're not seriously saying he's…both?"

Bonnie gripped the steering wheel, noticeable tension on her face.

"He is both a vampire and a werewolf," Elijah confirmed. "However that would make Klaus a hybrid, a dangerous cross between two already unnatural species. It would make him the most dangerous creature in the world. In order to restore the balance, a curse was placed on him, keeping the werewolf part of him dormant. That part of him is what Klaus wants awakening."

There was a meaningful silence as Bonnie and Damon digested that piece of horrific news. Bonnie, in particular, looked sickened by the idea of a half vampire, half werewolf creature stalking her home town. Damon thought of Elena, his heart bursting with longing, and felt sick at her role in all of this. And he knew he had to protect her, make sure she didn't become a part of this.

"That's… not happening," he said finally, unsure for the first time about their plan and its succession rate.

"Naturally," Elijah agreed. "Turn right up here. It's hard to miss," he added to Bonnie, who obeyed and turned the car. "Unfortunately, though, we have to let him go through with it."

Damon's head whipped around so fast, a loud cracking sound rippled its way through the car. His eyes narrowed and his breathing became raspy, hatred pouring itself into every syllable.

"Not an option," he growled.

"He'll be most vulnerable at the point of transition," Elijah reasoned, his eyes cool and calculating. "It's the only time to get him when he's vulnerable. Believe me, if there was any other time, do you think he'd still be alive? Do you really think I'd have let him run around for this long if I could've killed him another way, another time?"

"Yes," Damon sneered. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I don't doubt. You are about as trustworthy as a poisonous snake, and even they don't make a habit of kidnap as a ruse for killing one's brother."

Elijah didn't look unimpressed by the analogy.

"Elena…" Damon pointed out brokenly. "Are you saying we should let her die? Just so we can try killing a hybrid wolf-vamp in the _hopes _it'll work? It's insane. It won't work." He looked at Bonnie. "Why aren't you reacting to this?" he demanded. "You're quick to judge _me_ and all my badass ways, so why aren't you judging this obviously insane plan to let Elena die just so we can kill Klaus?"

"Because I can't see any other way round it," Bonnie whispered, her breathing hitched. "I've tried. I've looked in the Grimoire for answers – no luck. I've tried researching and researching but it's hard to tell what's fact and what's just been regurgitated by Wikipedia."

She looked at Damon who was trying desperately to come up with a suggestion of his own to counter Elijah's.

"If you're worried about Elena, I have something which can keep her safe," Elijah offered, out of the blue, his voice never rising above a murmur, its dulcet tones mildly irritating. "It's an elixir. Might be a few centuries old but it should work. It would ensure Elena would be resuscitated."

"A centuries-old elixir? Wow, our problems are solved," Damon replied, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Why not wish on a star while we are at it? Or, better yet, why don't we all try throwing a coin into a well for extra luck?"

"So, you've never put your faith into anything before just because you want it to happen?" Elijah asked, studying Damon. "Do you just shoot any and all ideas down just because you can't concede there's a chance, however slim it might be, it might work? All the best inventions, all of life's most inspiring creations, were created on a whim, you know, with nothing but blind faith to guide their inventors."

"Yeah, but we're talking about a hybrid vamp-wolf here, the destructor of everything supernatural related, not the friggin' inventor of the light bulb!" Damon snapped.

"We're here," Bonnie cut across, feeling something stir inside her; it wasn't quite power but rather the sense that the power was nearby, very close in fact.

They all exited the car, Damon glaring at Elijah's back as they did so. He couldn't believe Bonnie was going along with this and when she caught his eye, it was his full intention to glare at her, possibly throw the word 'traitor' in into the bargain. Something in her face, however, stopped him in his tracks. She was giving him a meaningful look, motioning ever so subtly in Elijah's direction before lightly shaking her head and mouthing the word 'John'.

She'd found another way to protect Elena.

The thought made Damon almost sick with relief but, being a master of bottling his emotions, he swallowed his relief and put on a mask of indifference, merely inclining his head in Bonnie's direction before surging ahead.

He had no idea what her way involved but he had every faith it would work, because, unlike Elijah, when it came to Elena, Bonnie took every precaution when it came to protecting her. Elijah didn't care either way, as long as the end result was that Klaus was dead, whereas Bonnie's emotional attachment to Elena meant she would do whatever it took to save her friend.

How John played into this, he didn't know, but he decided to put all questions to the back of his mind for now. Time wasn't to be spent worrying and fretting, after all, but rather for acting.

* * *

Caroline resurfaced from the woods, quickly composing herself after her feast. She could've gone and retrieved some blood bags as she normally did, but she felt like she had to build up her strength somehow. Combining animal and human blood, she felt, was taking the initiative and running with a new idea. She did feel sort of powerful, more so than usual, a feeling which deflated in the presence of Matt, who'd stumbled into view from out of nowhere.

"Matt?" she questioned, wishing his eyes didn't look so cold when they appraised her. "Are you – Are you okay?"

"No," he admitted. "This vampire malarkey is doing my head in. I can't sleep. I can't even think straight anymore. I don't know who's real anymore."

"I thought Stefan compelled you?"

"He tried." Matt emptied his pockets, which showed an array of products clearly spiked with vervain. "Didn't work."

She stepped forward, with the intention of embracing him, but stopped as he flinched. Trembling, like she was the weaker one of the two, she found herself at a loss for words, wondering how she could possibly make any of this better.

"Why are you out here?" she asked quietly.

"Trying to forget," he mumbled. "Up until a few days ago, the only monsters in my world were the bills on my table. Now – "He looked away, biting his lip. "I don't get how this is all okay with you guys."

"It's not okay, Matt, but it's reality," Caroline told him, trying to be gentle. "Do you think I wanted to be like this? Do you think I wanted to give up any chance of me having children one day? Some days are harder than others, yes, and sometimes I just want to curl up and cry but I can't. This is my life now, Matt. And, whether or not you get on board with it all is up to you, but know that _I love you_."

She put her hands on his face, wishing he could just _see_ her, as opposed to just looking past her.

"I love you," she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Make me forget, Car," he whispered.

"What? No."

"Do it. Please. I don't want this to be my life too," he begged. "I'd rather believe that my sister took herself from this world not these…these…_monsters."_

She visibly flinched, her heart breaking at the britches.

"You want me to make you forget about vampires and werewolves?" she questioned. "It's dangerous for you _not_ to know, Matt."

He shook himself out of her grip, his blue eyes swimming with frightened tears. She knew however lost she'd been in the beginning, time had made her stronger. All time would do with Matt was make him angrier and more bitter. Perhaps erasing his memory was for the best, although every inch of her fought for her to just walk away, tell him to deal with it.

"What do you want to forget?" she asked, breathing in deeply.

"Make me forget about all of this craziness. Make me forget about how Vicki really died." He inhaled deeply. "Make me forget about us."

"I can't…" she sobbed, clutching his hand. "Breaking up with me I get, but to forget about us, all our memories? Why?"

"Because walking away from you knowing what I'm giving up is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he confessed, taking her hand and pressing it against his cheek. "I'd rather forget what you mean to me, what you'll always mean to me."

"And Elena?" Caroline ventured bravely. "Would you rather go on believing a lie? Would you rather believe she was dead, like the rest of Mystic Falls does?"

Playing the Elena card, even for her, was a bold move. She saw a flicker of uncertainty cross Matt's face and she knew he would always be in love with her. She could do no wrong in his eyes, and Caroline knew she couldn't live in the shadow of a love like that. And she knew what she had to do to set them both free, even though it would cripple her forever.

Her eyes honed in on Matt's, her lips pressing lightly against his one last time. She memorised the feel of his lips, allowed herself to taste the tears – both his and hers – and then prepared herself for the hardest words she would ever have to say.

"You will forget about vampires and werewolves," she commanded, her grip gentle. "You will forget that they're anything other than myth. You will go on living your life and forget everything you've heard in the past few days." She inhaled deeply, fresh tears bubbling in her eyes. "You will forget about us. You will forget there ever was an us. As far as you know, we are just friends. We've always been just friends." Then, equally as gently, she finished her compulsion with, "And you will find some way to let Elena go. Find a girl who won't burden you with her d-drama."

And she fled, unable to bear the pain any longer. Once she'd reached a decent amount of distance away, she gathered her courage and tried – in vain – to regain her composure. It was a mark of how much she'd grown that she knew it had been an utterly selfish move to make Matt forget. Even though he'd begged her to do it, she knew there was a lot they could never make work, even if she wasn't a vampire. Maybe time would've helped him heal over Elena, and maybe it wouldn't have made a difference, but she knew sometimes loving someone meant handing your heart over to them, with no possible chance of a refund.

"Barbie? That you?" a familiar voice called.

She quickly wiped her eyes, mentally preparing herself for a rally of insults.

"You're back quickly," she said, eyeing Damon with surprise.

"Yes. It's almost like I have the gift of speed," Damon said sarcastically.

He looked at her smeared make up, at her blotched skin, and wondered what to say. In the end, he just blurted out the first question on his mind.

"What happened to you?"

"Subtlety isn't really your strong suit is it?" Caroline asked, chuckling weakly. "Nor is tact it seems."

"Nope," Damon agreed. "You wanna tell me or not? Not got much time to listen to your dear diary moments so take this offer before it expires."

"You want to know what's wrong?" she asked, frowning. "Are you dying?"

"No! I just want everyone focused on taking down Klaus, not off in their own little fantasy world, worrying about matters that really, really can do with waiting."

She scrutinised him carefully before briefly relaying to him the situation with Matt. It may just have been her imagination, but she thought she saw a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. Like a mirage in the desert, however, it soon disappeared – if it was there at all – and his lips pressed into a firm, indifferent line.

"Good," he said bluntly. "No offence, but I can't really be doing with any more people to protect. You did the right thing, Caroline."

"Did I?"

He nodded, a spasm of pain crossing his face as he recalled the contemplation of telling Elena he loved her and then erasing her memory. He vowed that as soon as he got her back, he'd tell her the truth. The hell with dignity - it wasn't like he had much else to lose anyway.

"If you want a distraction, Stefan's back at the house. I'm sure he can offer you better advice than me," he said indifferently. "My brother's always been better at the therapy sessions anyway."

"You don't say," Caroline said sarcastically, earning her a wry smile from Damon which, considering he didn't give them out often, she considered a result.

Damon hesitated before reaching out a hand and giving Caroline's shoulder a pat, realizing it was probably a condescending gesture but they weren't close enough for anything else.

"Take it from a guy who's been around a _long_ time," he advised. "It's better this way. Don't spend eternity holding on to that pain. You end up doing a lot of stupid stuff you will at some point regret."

She gave him a soft smile, wondering where this guy had been when she'd needed him most. Not that she'd consider dating Damon again – no, he was too hung up on Elena for that – but this guy right here was someone she could've fallen for, someone she'd definitely needed during that time of sheer desperation.

"Let's go back to the house," Damon said, his manner shifting noticeably into serious mode. "Alaric has some more crazy weapons for us to see and we need to work out a plan of action. One that, hopefully, doesn't end in a mass slaughter."

They simultaneously winced.

Now _that_ – even for him – had been in extremely poor taste.

* * *

"What's the plan?" Jeremy asked, hoping someone could actually give him a straight answer for a change.

Everyone was gathered in the living room of the Boarding House. Alaric, tense and silent, lingered by the door, a glass of bourbon in his hand. His array of weapons lay across the floor, each of them self-explanatory.

"My original plan which involved simply going in and staking everything in sight apparently isn't feasible," Damon announced, prowling up and down, his expression sour. "So, we're going with plan b."

"Which is…?" Jeremy prompted.

Damon turned to Elijah, giving him a sarcastic wave forward, ignoring the surge of distrust inside him, the same surge which was whispering ideas of how to make the Original pay should he turn out to be (as suspected) a treacherous leech.

Elijah inclined his head, before stepping forwards, six pairs of wary eyes flashing in his direction as he took to the floor like a thespian to the stage.

"The first thing to do is to take down Klaus's witch," he began, his eyes landing on each individual in turn. "Klaus isn't so stupid as to be without a backup or, indeed, a backup of a backup. Someone needs to keep an eye on the witch, take them down the moment the ritual is complete."

"I'm on it," Damon said grimly.

"To risk as few lives as possible, I suggest we take as few people as possible," Elijah continued, eyeing Caroline and Jeremy in particular.

"No, I'm coming," Jeremy immediately spoke up.

"I'm not completely useless," Caroline protested, speaking at the same time as Jeremy.

"Nobody's saying you are," Stefan assured her.

"I am," Damon couldn't resist joking, earning him a death stare.

Elijah turned to Bonnie, his eyes honing in on hers.

"All you have to do is drive him to the brink of death and I'll do the rest," he told her.

"And you won't hesitate? I know he's your brother…" Bonnie began.

"I won't hesitate," Elijah said coldly. "He hunted down my family one by one and exterminated them like rats. How can you forgive something like that?"

Stefan shifted on the spot, immediately causing Damon to stare at him, a glint of guilt in his eyes. It was surprising what you could forgive your family for, as both Stefan and Damon knew very well. Despite Damon's numerous acts of murder and violence, Stefan found he'd forgiven Damon a long time ago, mostly because every time Damon had given him a reason to end his life, something had happened which had presented Stefan with a reason to let him live again. There was something wonderfully screwed up about their relationship, but they'd learned to function with a very tentative relationship that could explode at any minute, each of them knowing when it came down to it, they'd do anything for the other.

"What else?" Alaric suddenly interrupted, his hands clenching into fists. "What about getting Jenna out of there?"

"That, ah, might be difficult," Elijah confessed. "If I know Klaus, I'm sure he has a better plan for her other than making sure Elena behaves. He has his henchmen for that particular purpose."

"What else could he have Jenna for?" Alaric demanded, growing visibly upset.

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking," Damon muttered, his mind whirring over the possibilities.

"You're also not going to like the fact that Klaus is fully prepared for the possibility you might gate-crash his ritual," Elijah continued. "I'm sure the fact we have heard nothing from him is more than a little disconcerting."

"And that's where I come from," a familiar voice announced, the entire room jolting at the sound of her voice.

Clad in a dark purple dress, Cat strode forwards, her intent not to harm but rather to startle. The dress was merely for voyeuristic purposes, something which seemed to have caught everyone's attention, particularly Damon's, whose eyes seemed to be wandering downwards. _Gotta love history and its habits of repeating itself, _she thought to herself, concealing a smirk.

"Katherine," Jeremy spat.

She barely acknowledged him. She sauntered towards Elijah, hands on her hips, a familiar smile curling her lips. She saw his eyes narrow marginally, perhaps hinting at some form of recognition, but if he saw through her charade he said nothing of it.

"Katerina," he said politely, the slightest hint of irony to his voice.

"What are you doing here? I don't remember putting vampire sluts down on the invitation," Damon snarled.

For the briefest of moments, Cat froze, the insult narrowly hitting its intended target. A smirk uncurled on her lips as she regained her composure.

"I have information for you, but maybe you're too immature to handle it," she taunted. "Information which might prove to be of interest to you all."

"What information?"

"What's the catch?"

"No catch," she explained, her eyes lighting with mischief. "Can't a girl help without her motives being questioned?"

Damon sped over to her, his face literally inches away from hers, the warning across his face very clear.

"Not when it's you," he spat.

"Is she worth all this trouble? Really?" Cat asked, her voice hovering between teasing and taunting. "All of you could end up dying for her. Is she really worth saving? I've never seen anyone so prone to de –"

_SMACK!_

Though it was considered a rather cattish thing to do, Damon still found the slap a satisfying way of venting out his frustration. He knew this imposter wasn't Katherine any more than she was Elena. Rather than outing her, however, he decided to let her charade continue. He was fascinated by her, if he was brutally honest, and, really, her presence's only benefit was it was a continual reminder of how there seemed to be only one Petrova doppelganger worth caring for.

Cat looked unperturbed by the slap. What she did looked pissed about, however, was the smirk on Damon's face.

"Klaus is hoping you'll show up tonight," she spat, glaring at them all in turn. "He's hoping you'll gate-crash and then he can have opportunity to kill you all in turn. Rid Mystic Falls of its vermin problem."

"Katherine…" Stefan stepped towards her, clearly itching to kill.

"Please." She gave him a toothy grin. "Call me Cat. Do you know how irritating it is to have _two_ lookalikes running around, let alone one? There's only one of me. _One._"

There was an eerie silence as the room absorbed this. Elijah cottoned on pretty quick, and Stefan was not far behind. Jeremy and Caroline, however, were left puzzling over her ambiguous words, letting out a conjoined gasp as they realized the shocking truth along with everyone else.

"Capricia. It's been a while." Elijah inclined his head, though his lips were frozen in a feral snarl. "Time has not tamed your wild streak I see."

"Wild?" She gave out a crazy laugh. "Who's wild? Why make rules you're only going to break?" She directed her gaze at Stefan and Damon. "Sound familiar, boys?"

"Katherine," they said as one, their twin glares amusing her rather than intimidating her.

"It's kinda sad when one doppelganger ruins it for the bunch," she noted, twirling a strand of hair in between her fingers. "Katherine was cool but Elena? Kinda lame don't ya think?"

"She's still human. Doesn't that count for something?" Damon fired at her.

"Ouch. My poor little heart," Cat pouted.

"You mean you actually have one? Wouldn't have noticed."

"This isn't being productive," Alaric said loudly, the tension clear in his voice. "Now, either we make a damn plan, or we let Elena and Jenna die. Now, enough monkeying around. If I have to, I'll do it myself, as I seem to be the only one around here focused on helping the people we care about."

"The hormonal human does raise a good point," Damon admitted, flashing Cat a dirty look. "Anyone who refuses to help can go screw – "

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Cat asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Ha, ha," Damon responded, sounding bored.

"Look, I want Klaus dead as much as you guys do – "

"I've heard _that _before…" Damon said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"There's another way of killing Klaus," Cat replied quickly. "Doesn't involve any sacrifice whatsoever."

"And I'm sure you're telling us this out of the goodness of your heart," Damon remarked, rolling his eyes. "Puh-lease. Give us _some _credit."

"I'm telling you this because I'm trying to protect my lineage," Cat growled, thoroughly irritated at this point. "Doesn't matter if my descendants are dull as dishwasher, I made a promise and I don't go back on my word."

"A promise?" Stefan's eyes flashed with intrigue. "To who?"

She didn't respond, her eyes perusing the room with disgust, her lips twisting as they landed on Bonnie. There was a thin veil of hatred in her eyes, which was understandable to anyone who knew the story of Cat's somewhat tragic and violent past. The Bennett lineage was one she longed to exterminate, and if she got her way, tonight that would be achieved.

One betrayal in exchange for another.

"Look, Elijah's way, there's a possibility you lose your girl forever," she said impatiently, sensing their distrust. "My way, well, you can all live happily ever after."

And her eyes fell onto Bonnie's again, the girl shifting as if sensing her hatred, the tiniest of smirks hitching up the corner of her mouth.

_Well, all except the witch, _she added silently.

But there was no need to tell them that.

* * *

In the thick of the woods, a confused Matt stumbled forwards, his mind hazy as he recalled perfectly his conversation with Caroline.

_What had possessed him to say those awful things? _

It wasn't like the idea of forgetting everything hadn't crossed his mind, but he'd never ever contemplated forgetting Caroline into the bargain. She was much more complex than he'd ever given her credit for. And she was certainly a stronger person that much he could vouch for.

And seeing her broken expression made him want to cry, made him want to turn right back and chase after her, screaming that he didn't want to forget her. But his feet drove him forwards, his mind unable to comprehend where he was actually meant to end up.

"Marvellous," a cool voice responded.

Matt looked up, blinking rapidly as a man clad in a leather jacket swept forwards, his eyes cold and appraising.

"For all that I despise in humans, I can appreciate their unflinching ability to lie at any given moment," Klaus continued, placing his hands on Matt's face, his cold eyes honing in on the frightened boy. "Even though you were under compulsion, you gave a convincing performance. She won't go looking for you again. None of them will."

"What is the second task you want me to do?" Matt asked, his voice flat, monotonous, a clear sign of compulsion. "You said there were two tasks you wanted me to complete."

Klaus smiled darkly, absolutely no sign of remorse on his face.

"Die," he said simply.

And with a simple, yet cruel, manoeuvre he snapped Matt's neck.

* * *

**A/n: Sorry! I am trying to keep up with this fic but it's hard when I'm surrounded by brilliant fics like YOURS (yes, I'm talking to you). I lose inspiration lol, and I am kind of itching to get on to the sequel to this even though I've not finished this one yet lol. The sacrifice happens next chapter guys. Sorry for the lack of Delena but there will be BUCKET LOADS next chapter to make up for it. :D Thanks for reviewing. Love ya. :D**


	27. In The Dead of Night

_Chapter 27: In The Dead of Night_

* * *

Idly tracing her fingers along her skin, it felt like forever until night fell. Though there were no windows to reveal that fact to her, she could feel night's approach simply by the goosebumps that ran up and down her skin. She could feel her own impending doom race towards her, as if time was deliberately being fast forwarded. Jenna was quiet too, the only indication she was even here given away by her quiet sighs.

When the door eventually opened, she half expected Klaus's gloating face to appear but it was one of his minions instead.

"You ready, sweetheart?" he asked, his smile sickening to see.

Rather than give him the satisfaction of answering, Elena huffily rose to her feet, grabbing Jenna's hand as she saw her aunt had done the same. The two huddled close together, their fear mirrored in each other's eyes. For once, however, Elena could truly appreciate how terrifying this all had to be for Jenna, her own fear taking the back seat for a moment.

"Isaac will take you down separately," the man grunted, breaking the two of them apart with his broad arm. "Just in case you get any ideas."

"Elena – "Jenna whispered, tears of fear sliding down her cheek, her hand clutching the air aimlessly.

"Jenna," Elena responded, the name coming out as more of a sob than anything else.

She watched as the vampire named Isaac brutally pushed Jenna down the corridor and out of sight, her heart following them silently. After a few moments, the vampire guard grabbed her arms, twisted them around behind her back, ignoring her muffled gasps of pain. He then pushed her in the direction Jenna and Isaac had gone, not giving her time to find her feet.

Elena felt completely numb inside. This moment had been postponed once, but she doubted Klaus would let it happen again. Now, it was really happening. And she had no way of knowing whether that note – the one crudely pushed through the bathroom window – had reached its intended target. At this point, all she wanted was for Jenna to be as far away from this place – these monsters – as possible, but that didn't look like that was happening anytime soon.

As she was pushed outside, she saw there were no vampires around, barring Klaus of course. The exterior of the house was lit up by the bright glow of the fires, fires which were acting as prison bars to two women, each one placed in the centre of a different circle of fire. One remained completely empty, which was where Elena suspected she would be placed. Her eyes took in the women, one of whom was writhing in pain, her eyes staring blankly ahead at the skies, skies which, at this moment, were looking out of control. Wispy bursts of cloud flew across the sky, pulling in their path the fully round moon, a spectacle Elena was sure she was only going to see once in her entire life.

Then her eyes zoomed in on the second circle of fire. It was where Jenna was being kept, although at this moment in time she was unnaturally still. Elena felt her heart drop about fifty floors, and a scream lay buried in her throat, unable to break free. She didn't even feel herself being pushed into the empty circle, didn't even see as the flames roared into life around her, keeping her from finding out if Jenna was even alive.

She sunk to her knees, her arms hugging her thin body to try and keep herself together. A sudden feeling of panic had gripped her and she could barely breathe. She only managed to pull it together at the sound of Jenna gasping in to life.

"Jenna," she breathed.

Klaus suddenly appeared, his cruel eyes meeting hers in the darkness, every line of cruelty standing on edge. The initial jovial appearance on him had melted away; she could see what a monster he really was.

"She might be a little hungry," he said, smirking. "Guess it's a good thing I brought a snack along."

Elena watched in horror as he seemingly conjured out of nowhere someone she recognized from Jenna's campus, an old friend she vaguely remember coming to dinner a few times whenever she was in town.

"I could've fed her a few drops of any human's blood," Klaus said with a shrug. "But I thought the poetry was simply too good to miss."

"Please…" Elena begged. "Let her go. You have me. Let her go!"

"Why? I rather like the symbolism," Klaus replied, his eyes taking in the scene. "Three goddesses. Three powerful forces of nature."

Elena had stopped listening. She watched as Jenna's eyes rapidly took everything in, her expression no longer one of terror but one of confusion, of _hunger_. Her eyes rolled on to Elena's and she finally seemed to register what had actually happened.

Klaus lured Jenna's friend in like a predator. He made a small incision with his teeth along her throat, the blood lit upby the fire's glow. Jenna's eyes rolled on to her friend and she quickly became horrified.

"Ashley," she gasped, scrabbling back as her friend was pushed in to the circle with her.

Elena saw she was struggling. The blood sung to her and, as her friend inched her way towards her, it wasn't hard to anticipate what would happen next.

"Jenna, no! Fight, damn it!" she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jenna didn't seem to hear her, so mesmerized was she by the drops of blood along her friend's neck. Like she was sleepwalking, she drifted towards the oblivious Ashley, her hands reaching out to touch her, and then that was it. Like lightning, Jenna's teeth reached the incision on Ashley's neck and then sunk their way in, her eyes rolling back as the blood lust took over.

Elena couldn't watch. Averting her eyes, she turned her eyes over to the other woman, the same woman she remembered from the sacrifice ritual before. Jules…wasn't it? She barely recalled that other night. It'd just been one horrific blur.

She turned her eyes back just in time to catch Jenna finishing her kill, the one human thing about her now being the horrified look in her eyes as she gently laid her friend's still body to the ground. Her eyes caught Elena's again and, this time, she was the one to look away, horror and shame and revulsion.

"It's okay, Jenna," Elena was quick to reassure her, her voice croaky, indicating it would be anything but okay. "We'll be okay."

Klaus gave her an amused smile, but didn't say anything.

"Well…" He clapped his hands together. "Shall we get on with this?"

* * *

"You know what to do?" Stefan asked Elijah quietly, the two of them separate from the rest of the group who were all clambering to get ready.

"I assure you I have been preparing for this moment for my entire life," Elijah replied coolly, looking Stefan in the eyes. "I will not fail."

Stefan nodded, barely flinching as Damon came up out of nowhere.

"Good. If you betray us, I'm having your head on a plate," Damon promised. "And that's not a threat, not even a promise, but a _vow_."

Elijah didn't look remotely touched by the threat but he inclined his head politely all the same, before promptly disappearing. Stefan and Damon looked at each other, the tension visible on both their faces.

"You okay, brother?" Damon asked, scrutinising Stefan's face carefully.

"Yeah." Stefan nodded, looking anything but. "You?"

"I'll be okay when that son of a bitch is dead," Damon responded, his eyebrows knitted together with pleasure as he visualised that image. "You know the plan right?"

Stefan nodded again. "You sure it'll work?"

"No, Stefan, I'm not sure it'll work," Damon sighed. "But it's either trusting Dracula, or Little Miss Bitch 2010. And since she's got a track record similar to Katherine's, I'd rather manually remove my own eyes than trust her."

"But Elijah kidnapped her," Stefan pointed out. "How can you be so sure we can trust him any more than we can trust Cat?"

"I'm not," Damon snapped, the tension increasing tenfold. "Either way, he's our best shot at killing Klaus. He's motivated, he's an Original, and he's ten times more powerful than we are."

"Well, you've certainly changed your tune."

"Hey, I changed my tune the moment that _bitch_ decided to offer us her help. How come Elena is the only doppelganger that doesn't make me want to rip my own heart out to save them from doing so themselves?"

Stefan shrugged. "She's human. Katherine and Cat were human once themselves. I'm not making excuses for them, but this nature changes people for the worst. Not all vampires can find their humanity again like we could."

"What makes you think I've found mine?" Damon asked, smiling wryly.

"You're helping your brother save the girl he loves," Stefan replied. "And you love her too. If you were still the dick who loved running amok and ruining my life, you wouldn't be here, helping me like this."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I'm itching to fight the bad guy seeing how I'm not allowed to fight _you _anymore."

And, surprisingly, Stefan smirked.

"Yeah," he said sarcastically. "Let's call _that _the reason you're helping."

Caroline suddenly came through, her eyes narrowed with worry.

"Guys," she began, biting her bottom lip. "I've not heard from Matt since I, you know, compelled him."

"Didn't you compel him to _forget you?_" Damon asked sarcastically. "That might be the reason, Barbie."

She shot him a dirty look.

"I hadn't finished, Damon," she replied coldly. "I went to check on his house to see if he got back okay and he hadn't."

"So? He probably went for walkies or something. Oh wait – that's your other boyfriend. Tyler Whatshisface." Damon smirked at his own joke. "My bad…"

"Can you, like, pretend to care just once?" Caroline demanded, her hands on her hips, her face dangerously close to changing.

"Not really. Not when it's this close to, oh I don't know, _your best friend being sacrificed_."

"Oh, knock it off you two," Stefan barked, glaring at both of them. "You can fight like siblings later. We've gotta go." In a softer tone, he added, "He's probably fine, Caroline. He's probably at the Grille or something."

She nodded, still looking unconvinced but evidently decided she could spend time worrying over him later.

"Oh, God!" she suddenly gasped, something having crossed her mind. "Tyler!"

"Who?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"He doesn't know about the full moon tonight!" Caroline looked terrified. "He's going to transform and not even know!"

"Well, then there's your job." Damon gave her a sarcastic sweeping gesture. "Off you go."

"Be careful," Stefan told her earnestly. "Don't get yourself killed trying to help him, Caroline. There's been enough death around here."

She smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Stefan. I'll be careful."

And she was out of the door before either of them could say anything more. Damon looked from where Caroline had been to Stefan, before lightly shaking his head, mock disgust on his face.

"You know what, I'm not even going to comment."

"What? _What?"_

* * *

Night was falling faster and faster. The moon, having been dragged out of its normal pattern, was rising at a slow pace now, as if aware of what its presence here tonight would do. Elena couldn't stop staring at it. Whereas once it'd been a thing of beauty, something she and her parents had used to look up at with reverence, now all it seemed to do was remind her of everything the night kept in the shadows.

Klaus was over by Jules, his taunting gaze having been averted from Elena thank God. His male witch – Maddox, she thought she heard him call him – was nearby, chanting incoherent words over a small fire.

Jules turned to Elena, her eyes seeking her out.

"Make sure Tyler is okay," she choked. "I came back to see him when Mason didn't show up in Florida."

"I will," Elena whispered, too terrified to make much sound.

Her eyes flicked across to Jenna who looked like a penned up animal. She looked constantly terrified and the fact Klaus hadn't bothered to clean up her dead friend just added insult to injury. Jenna every so often would look in her direction, then would turn her head to one side if she caught her looking, as if she was in any position to judge her. Words of comfort, words of assurance however died quickly on Elena's tongue, when she realized they would be utterly futile given the circumstances.

"You must be wondering where everyone else is?" Klaus called, stalking towards Elena, his stare akin to that of a farmer gazing at a prize winning animal in his possession. "I thought I'd rather not draw any unnecessary attention to this little ritual. Though I'd keep this nice and personal."

"How touching," Elena sarcastically replied.

Klaus gave her a parting smirk as he turned to concentrate his attention on a clearly agonised Jules. Waving the flames away impatiently, he stepped into the circle and, taking a look at the moon's position in the sky, he positioned his hand over his chest, giving her a meaningful stare before plunging into her chest and ripping out her heart.

Jenna gave a frightened sob; Elena closed her eyes and tried, in vain, to wish as this nightmare away. As her eyes wandered away, she blinked rapidly as something in the bushes caught her eye. It might have been her imagination, but she could've sworn the bushes had eyes. Figuring it was just a trick of the light, she drew her knees to her chest and tried to think positive thoughts, which was, admittedly, a difficult task in the presence of such chaos and madness.

As her hand landed on the grass, she heard the sound of a piece of paper being rustled. Puzzled, she looked under her hand and saw a piece of paper which hadn't been there before. Looking around to see if Klaus's attention was sufficiently taken, she looked at it and what she saw made her almost burst into tears with relief.

_No other way of getting message to you_._ Keep strong, we are on the way. _

_-B_

She put the paper to her lips, as if trying to send a kiss to her best friend, and then discreetly shoved the paper in the fire, making sure it burned the evidence. Her eyes fell onto the bush she'd been eyeing earlier and gave it a warm smile, before quickly looking away.

Unfortunately, Klaus had spotted her staring and had zoomed over to glare suspiciously at her.

"Who you looking at sweetheart?" he asked quietly.

As a response, Elena glared at him and refused to say anything. She was damned either way, so why say anything?

Klaus gave an indifferent shrug and meandered his way over to the bush, taking it apart much to Elena's pain. But, to her surprise, nothing was there. As her eyes averted, she saw Jenna had disappeared, and before she could do so much as react, she felt something on her arm and suddenly found herself up against a tree in the dark, a finger pressed against her lips.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she found herself staring up at Damon, and she almost melted with relief until she heard Klaus's furious scream. Damon's eyes honed in on hers and he lowered one of his hands to grip hers tightly, a silent promise passing between them.

"I wouldn't play this game if I were you," Klaus warned, his voice sounding dangerously close. "I've moved heaven and hell to get everything I need and so I won't hesitate to slaughter everything and everyone you ever cared about unless I get my doppelganger back."

Elena felt herself start to shake, but Damon gave her a reassuring nod, before letting his grip on her slacken. He pressed his lips to her ear, whispering something quiet to her, before giving her the go ahead to walk about to Klaus. She nodded gratefully, taking in his appearance one last time, feeling her eyes flood, believing this was going to be the last time she would ever see him.

Continuing to resemble Bambi as she walked, Elena made her way back to where Klaus was, unsurprised when he raced forward to grab her. He then flung her none too gently into her circle, making the flames rise higher and higher, each one burning with intensity.

"Maddox," Klaus barked, looking thoroughly pissed now. "We need to speed this up. Retrieve the boy. We've got company."

It might've been inappropriate, but all Elena could concentrate on right now was the feel of Damon's lips against her skin. She gave a shiver and found she missed him already, even though truthfully she'd not given him a lot of thought due to the fact she'd had Jenna and her impending sacrifice to worry about.

And now, he was all she could think about.

But that all changed when she saw who Klaus was bringing out.

Okay, she might've been disorientated but that didn't mean she couldn't recognize Matt.

"_No_!" she screamed, rising to her feet. "MATT!"

"Elena?" Matt met her eyes. "That you?"

Despite everything, she felt something stir inside her. The Elena she'd used to be squirmed inside her, begging her to do something for him – anything. That Elena would always be in love with Matt, but she knew it wasn't fair to anyone to just give them a quarter of your heart.

"Please…" she tried begging with Klaus again. "Let him go…"

"It's okay, Elena," Matt told her, giving her a brave smile. "Love you." And his face suddenly fell as he remembered something. "Tell Caroline I never meant the stuff I said to her. Tell her I love – "

He never got to finish the sentence as something was driven into his heart. Elena let out an earth shattering scream as her former boyfriend was killed right in front of her. And it felt like it was all done in slow motion. Matt's eyes travelled downwards, and the fear finally surfaced on his face, as he caught sight of the stake sticking out of his body.

Then his body collapsed, his face hardening and making a crumbling sound, and she couldn't help but remember Vicki at the same time. And she began to realize by trying to keep people out of this dark world, she'd inadvertently pushed them into it. Jenna was a vampire now. Matt was dead. Everything was so screwed up.

"Matt…" she sobbed, allowing her head to drop into her hands.

It was almost poetic that at that moment, when everything felt so far from reality and every part of her heart ached with the pain, it began to rain.

* * *

Damon thought he'd seen enough heart rendering moments to last a life time (maybe two). But watching Elena drop to her knees, her face completely broken, hearing her heartbroken scream was a sight he wished he could erase from his memory. He moved to go comfort her but Elijah stuck an arm out.

"Don't," he warned him. "You've already infuriated Klaus enough by that little stunt you just pulled." He gripped Damon's arm tightly. "Don't try it again."

Damon glanced backwards, at where a disorientated Jenna was being led away by Alaric and Jeremy, his eyes soon snapping back to the clearing where Elena was. They were out of the way enough that they were out of earshot, but close enough to see everything. And he was dying to go over and fetch Elena, only he knew for this plan to even have a shot at working, he had to let Klaus kill her. He was putting a lot of faith into Bonnie's plan – too much, in fact – but he trusted the witch a lot more than he did a bottle of questionably old elixir.

He had to admit though, his heart clenched when he saw Klaus kill that Matt kid. He knew he wouldn't have been able to control Caroline had she been here. Damn it. _Caroline._

What the hell was he going to tell her? Especially when it turned out all along he hadn't meant to make her compel her, and that he still loved her a lot. Now, Damon didn't do sympathy, but right at this moment, he actually _felt_ for Caroline. And it brought home all the reasons why it was better not to feel a damn thing, because when you felt, you felt everything, from anger to guilt to love to sorrow.

His eyes went across to Bonnie's, saw the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and knew they had to end this tonight. Bonnie's eyes hovered on his and they shared a grim look. In that moment they were united, united for the ones they loved. His eyes then hovered on Stefan's, who was situated nearby, and saw the sheer desperation in his eyes to get to Elena. But they had to stick to the plan no matter what.

They'd already lost too much tonight to do anything else.

* * *

She was crying quietly when Klaus approached her, her sobs muffled ones as she kept her grief to a minimum.

"Are you ready my dear?" he asked, extending a hand.

She rose fluently off the ground, making her disdain for him clear, before pushing past his outstretched hand and making her way over to where Maddox was. He was chanting quietly, otherwise ignoring her presence.

"Before you die, you should know the truth," Klaus whispered in her ear, his hand sweeping aside her hair as he caressed the spot on her neck where he was going to strike. "There is no Sun and the Moon curse. No, the curse you're about to break is for me."

Her blood ran cold.

No.

No!

_No!_

It had to be a lie! She wasn't going to die for this maniac! But she could feel the truth pulsing from him, like a menacing aura.

"I hate you," she snarled.

"Petrova or not," he murmured, eyeing her up and down. "It'd be a shame to waste you."

It probably wasn't her wisest move, but she'd made so many unwise moves she was starting to feel reckless, but she saw the look in his eyes and she slapped him, knowing that was just a taste of what he deserved. And she could feel the pain from her arm and knew he was capable of doing much more than that. His eyes bore down on hers and she felt her knees start to buckle.

"Like I said," he murmured, trailing a finger up the back of her neck, making her shudder with revulsion. "Such a waste…"

And he gave her a wide grin.

"Thank you, Elena," he whispered in her ear.

She hated the sound of her name on his tongue. It sounded so ugly.

"Go to hell," she spat, suddenly finding she was no longer afraid.

In a few moments, this bastard was going to go just there, and she no longer felt afraid of death because of that. Sometimes in life there were causes worth dying for and this was definitely one of them.

His teeth scaled her neck for a few seconds, before he found the vein that, when it lost enough blood, would result in her death. She didn't react when his teeth sunk into her flesh, and she certainly didn't react when she felt the blood being drained from her body. She felt herself getting weaker and weaker, the very motion of breathing taking up too much energy.

And her eyes managed to pick out a face from the edge of the woods she hadn't managed to pick out before.

It wasn't Bonnie, Stefan, or even Damon.

It was John.

Her last expression was one of utter surprise before she felt everything – love, life, everything – drain from her body, and she dropped to the floor, utterly oblivious to everything.

* * *

There was no telling how he got through those few minutes without managing to kill something. He watched as Klaus came dangerously close to adding sexual assault to the list of charges Damon wanted to kill him for, and felt an almost cringe worthy sense of pride as she fought back.

Then nothing could have prepared him – or anyone else, for that matter – for what they saw next. Klaus drained Elena dry, and Damon didn't know what to feel angriest about most. The fact he was killing her in cold blood (pardon the pun), the fact his hands were all over her as he held her in place, making no secret of the fact there was a part of him that desired her, or the fact when he'd finished, he dropped her like she wasn't worth a damn.

And then as Klaus started to transform, his every bone cracking and snapping and making all sorts of horrible, unnatural noises, Bonnie swept into the clearing, the rainfall turning into a storm as she started to take down Klaus.

Damon eyed the Maddox warlock and quickly zoomed up to snap his neck, relishing the kill like he'd not done in a long time. He watched as Bonnie threw Klaus about like a rag doll, the storm making the whole scene look like something from a movie.

His eyes fell to the bodies on the floor around him – Jules, whose help he never did receive, Matt's… and then Elena's. With a tenderness he never imagined himself capable of ever possessing, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the woods, whereby Stefan swooped down on him.

"Take her to the safe house," he ordered, bending down to place a loving kiss on Elena's cold forehead.

"What about you?" Damon asked, having to yell because the wind had picked up.

"I'm not leaving until he's dead," Stefan growled, everything about his stance suggesting he was serious.

"I only wish I was killing the son of a bitch myself," Damon snarled, nodding towards Matt. "Do me one favour. When it's all over, you tell Caroline about Matt. Somehow, I think you'll be able to console her better than me."

He left Stefan with that somewhat vague request, sweeping through the woods with Elena in his arms. Bonnie had given him a quick rundown of John's plan before they'd started, which meant the moment Elena drew breath again, John's unenviable life would end, and whilst there was no love lost between himself and John, he had to admire the way the guy was going out.

He could've run the entire way to the safe house but somehow he wanted to drag out this moment; he would think of this moment in future times whenever he decided to be a complete ass, as a reminder of what he could lose if he wasn't careful.

But he sped up a little towards the end, eager to see her wake up again, and once he'd walked in through the door, he gave the tiniest sigh of relief.

"Remind me to kill you when you wake up," he told her softly, giving an ironic chuckle. "I'm not going through all this again. Not even for you."

He lowered her onto the couch, gently stroking a strand of hair from across her face.

"Guess we need to do some talking when we wake up," he said, picking up her hand. "Get some things out of the open." He closed his eyes, realizing he was coming close to having a corny rom-com moment here; oh well, he was going to hell anyway, might as well complete the journey. "It doesn't matter whether you love me back or not. I won't stop fighting to protect you. Ever."

Alaric and Jeremy came racing in, their timing, for once, perfect.

"How is she?" Jeremy asked, looking at his still sister and fighting the urge to hit something.

"Too early to tell," Damon commented, looking at Alaric. "How's Jenna?"

"Frightened. Confused. Angry," Alaric responded glumly. "I don't know how she's going to get past this."

"The lying, or the fact she's a vampire?"

Alaric gave him a dirty look. "Which one do you think?"

Damon gave a half-hearted shrug, unable to commit to the conversation.

"Do you think Bonnie's spell will work?" Jeremy asked quietly, unable to ask the real question that was on everyone's mind.

"Yes." Damon's reply was quiet, smothered with longing. "Every other spell she's ever done worked."

"Do you think they've killed Klaus?"

Damon's eyes lit up with vengeance. "If they know what's good for 'em, they will have done."

"I agree," John agreed, lingering by the door, his eyes on Elena.

"Where did you pop up from?" Damon asked, trying to sound like his usual self but failing miserable; everyone could hear the tension in his voice.

"I've been here, watching," John admitted. "I saw the whole damn thing."

"And Isobel?" Damon questioned.

"She left town." John's eyes were downcast. "Went to go see if there was another way to save Elena without all this, and I quote, 'melodrama'. Somehow though I doubt she'll come back. She cares for Elena in her own way, but not enough to stay." He looked around. "Where's Stefan?"

"He wanted to stay. See Klaus get killed for himself."

John nodded, his face impassive.

"You might want to get out of here," Damon warned. "Elena shouldn't wake up to you – Well, you know."

John tilted his head to one side, his expression curious.

"When did you become the good guy? I'm genuinely curious."

Damon gave a non-committal shrug, which was about the best answer John was going to get out of him. The silence that followed was one filled with tension. John looked swiftly around before placing his lips on Elena's head, right about where Stefan's had been, and then made his way out of the house, not quite reaching far enough away when he heard Elena's gasp of life.

Elena inhaled the air greedily, her eyes seeking out Damon's, whose expression could only be described as a perfect blend of love and relief.

"Damon," she whispered hoarsely.

"That's me. Glad you remembered my name," he teased, closing his eyes and muttering something akin to a prayer under his breath.

She inhaled deeply a few more times before leaning her head back, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she tried to come to terms with what had happened.

"How am I alive?" she asked, confused.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Not important," he told her, continuing to stroke her face, relieved that his faith in Bonnie had paid out.

Elena looked as though she was going to argue, but settled for just lying back and inhaling and exhaling slowly, her entire body shaking.

And without even planning it, without even thinking about how the others would interpret the gesture, he pulled her into a hug, letting all the exhaustion of the past few weeks escape him in a single, heavy sigh.

Weak as she might've felt, he was relieved when her arms clung together around his back as she returned the gesture.

In that moment, Damon forgot everything, forgot about the people in the room with them, forgot about the entire world and just focused on the broken girl inside his arms.

Tomorrow could wait.

* * *

**A/n: This was by far my favourite chapter to write. I literally had to stop and breathe several times when reading this, so I hope it evokes that kind of reaction out of you. If it does, I've done my job well ;D The next four chapters will contain a bit more drama but this fic is nearly done, and the sequel is in the works so look forward to that. Thank you for those consistent reviewers :D if you have time to read and fave/alert, surely you have time to leave a review! :D Anyway, next chap should be up soon. There's a lot of angst coming up and the Delena "talk" will either be in next chapter or the one after. Haven't decided which yet.**


	28. When It All Falls Apart

_Chapter 28: When It All Falls Apart_

* * *

She couldn't say for sure when reality began to set in. Life had burst through her skull before she could even take it in, and she couldn't really take in Damon's face until the world had stopped spinning. But all she did know was how real the world tasted, how real Damon's grip on her felt.

And when he embraced her, an admittedly rocky gesture, she felt herself hug him back, her mind still racing after everything. And though the gesture felt foreign to her coming from him, she accepted it because in that moment she needed just one moment of stability, one moment of blissful ignorance before reality came and slapped her in the face.

"Elena…!"

"Are you okay?"

Faces crowded around her, arms tugging at her, and she found she couldn't deal with it. Pushing away from Damon, she begged them to let her breathe before she stumbled sideways, her legs numb from lack of use. His arms wrapped around her, catching her before she fell and her eyes drifted up to his, her broken heart on display for all to see.

"You're not leaving me again," he told her firmly, scrutinising her carefully, his grip on her tender but firm.

Elena shook her head, words bubbling at the surface on the tongue, refusing to leave her. Damon held her head with his hands, just like all those months ago, his finger resting against her bottom lip, and she knew he was checking for any permanent damage done. That was a task easier said than done, however, because she knew the damage wasn't physically manifesting itself; the damage was buried deep inside her, gnawing away at her heart, ignoring the fact that everything was caving down around it.

"D-Damon, don't," she stammered, trying to break out of his grasp. "Please…"

"Elena…"

Her eyes found Jeremy's and she saw his look of concern and worry. Reaching out a frail hand, she found his and gripped it tight, trying to convey the fact she was okay, but feared her face was contradicting that point. Her eyes then found Alaric's face, his expression hovering between concern and uncertainty.

"Jenna," she managed to get out.

"She's fine," Damon spoke up, glaring at Alaric as if daring him to say otherwise. "She's obviously shaken up, but she'll be fine."

"Don't lie," Elena yelled, startling them all, pushing him away. "She's a vampire! I wouldn't blame her if she hated my guts! I got her into this mess. I lied to her! If it wasn't for me and my _stupid_ idea of lying to you all – "she gestured around wildly, tears threatening to burst from her eyes – "we wouldn't be at this point. It's my fault, and don't you dare disagree with me Damon Salvatore!"

He raised an eyebrow at how she'd used his full name but didn't say anything, sensing it was better to let it get it all out of her system.

"It's not your fault, Elena," Jeremy argued weakly, already sensing he was fighting a losing battle in that department.

"It is," Elena moaned, sinking back on to the couch. "I'm the stupid doppelganger! I brought Klaus here! Everything he's done to you all, everyone he's hurt or – or killed, it's because of me!" She bit her lip, great gasping sobs heaving their way out of her skinny body. "I did this to you all."

"No. No you didn't," Damon told her firmly, making sure she looked him in the eye as he unveiled the truth. "None of this is your fault, Elena. We hadn't heard of Klaus until it was too late and he was here, so there was no way any of us could've prepared for him." He wiped away a tear crawling down her cheek. "Don't blame yourself for any of this. You'll come out of this stronger than before because that's what you do. You keep on fighting. Do you know how many times I've wanted to curl up and give up? But you – _you – _are the reason we keep on fighting. And if I have to spend every day of forever convincing you of that, well, I will."

Elena nodded, calming herself down with deep heavy breaths. She even managed a shaky smile before feebly attempting to stand up again.

"You okay there, Bambi?" Damon asked, a note of teasing relief in his voice. "Or do I have to play cab driver?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

He looked at her doubtfully, but didn't press the matter.

"Is Klaus dead?" Elena asked, her voice shaking with barely suppressed rage.

"Hopefully." He wasn't going to lie to her. "We're just waiting for Bonnie and Stefan to report back."

She nodded again, not feeling up to doing much else. She paced up and down, trying to get the feeling back into her legs as well as ignore the concerned looks from the others. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to hold back the sudden wave of grief that came with remembering the night's events. The sky was lightening, yet it didn't seem to lighten the load on her shoulders.

"We should get back to the house," Jeremy said eventually, aiming to break the silence that had fallen. "We can wait for news there."

Damon nodded, his eyes on Elena's.

"That okay with you?" he asked cautiously.

She turned her head marginally, showing just enough of her face to make him go cold with worry. There was no trace of emotion on her face; the only mark of emotion being the tear stains on her cheeks. All she could manage in response was an indifferent shrug.

It then hit Damon that if Elena went out the way they'd came, she'd stumble on to John's body. Deciding to give her a few moments more of blissful ignorance, he steered her out the back way, giving Alaric a meaningful look which his friend managed to interpret (thankfully).

As they walked, Damon's arm around Elena's waist, it struck him that he was actually terrified by the lack of emotion on her face. Sure, it hurt to see her so broken, but in this state, he couldn't read her at all.

"Thank you for coming to find me," she eventually said, her voice distinctly flat and lifeless.

"Hey." He turned her around, his eyes honing in on hers. "I know it's hard to believe this, but this isn't your fault! Hell, it isn't anybody's fault but Klaus's. You couldn't have done anything."

"No," she conceded, her warm, brown eyes cold and dull as they scrutinised him carefully. "But that's always going to be the problem, Damon. I can't do anything. Not like this."

He frowned, sensing something disturbing about her tone.

"You're not hinting at what I think you're hinting at are you?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. "It's a stupid line of thought."

"God, no," she exclaimed, looking shocked by the thought. "I'm just saying, I hate being the damsel in distress all the time. I can't do a damn thing right, Damon, that's all I'm trying to say. I mean, name one damn thing I've done to help _anyone._"

"Er, hello?" He waved a hand in the air impatiently. "You saved the town on numerous occasions."

"That was Bonnie, not me."

"Okay, you saved Stefan's life when those tomb vampires had captured him, even when I told you not to come."

"You and Alaric helped me. And, as you recall, it led to me giving Stefan blood which ended up turning him into a monster."

Damon sighed with exasperation. There was no satisfying this woman!

"Okay, how about the fact you saved _me _then? You save me on a daily basis, Elena, and you don't even realize it."

She looked up, a glimmer of emotion finally surfacing.

"How do you mean?" she asked guardedly.

"How can I put this so I don't sound mushy and corny?" he mused, eyeing her with complete seriousness on his face. "Before I came back here, Elena, the only thing I came to town for was Katherine. I was convinced she was my entire world, and that once I had her she would be all I would ever need. And it angered me to realize she'd betrayed me and skipped town without ever trying to find me. And that right there should've been the end of my world, the end of my reason for living.

"But you came along. You were stubborn, yes, and a lot more naïve than you are now. At first, I'll admit it, I hated you. I hated how you could look like Katherine and be so damn better than her without even knowing her. I hated that Stefan had found his happy ending and I hadn't. So, I tried to make your lives hell. And then when I found out Katherine wasn't in the damn tomb, even after _everything_ I'd done to you, you came out to me and held me. And I knew then somewhere under all the bitterness and anger, I felt something for you.

"And you continued to save me, time and time again even when I gave you every reason not to. Even after I made the stupid mistake of trying to kill Jeremy, you somehow found a way to let me back in again. You want to know how you save me? Just you caring about me is enough for me, Elena. Yes, that whole speech sounds like the spawn of the world's most cringe-worthy rom-com ever, but it's true."

There was silence.

Damon looked at Elena for her reaction, worried he might've brought her to the brink of a breakdown, and was relieved to see the corners of her lips twitch upwards. It wasn't quite a smile, but it was damn close to one.

There was something in her eyes that made him realize she was on the brink of kissing him. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have been something he would've stopped even if they'd been in the path of a meteor, but he knew this wasn't the time, and that'd she feel a lot different after he broke the news to her of her father's death.

"Come on," he told her, giving her a brief grin. "Race ya to the house?"

"You'll win," she said flatly, stating the obvious. "You have super speed, remember?"

"I know. That's the brilliance of the idea."

Elena gave out a weak laugh and shook her head, suddenly finding new strength from nowhere.

As much as it hurt her, she couldn't ever remember Stefan giving her a speech like that before.

Nor, she recalled guiltily, could she remember her entire body physically ache for Stefan quite like this before; an ache so deep she was starting to think it'd been there all along, tucked away discreetly beneath her heart like every other emotion she'd hidden away over the years…

* * *

Back at the house, Damon reached for the liquor with relish, eager to numb the slowly ebbing fear which had gripped him ever since Elena had disappeared. He felt like these past few weeks had aged him about a hundred years.

But he knew he couldn't quite relax entirely until Bonnie and Stefan emerged in front of him with Klaus's head on a plate, or at least news that the guy was dead and gone.

"How she is?" he asked, as Jeremy emerged from the stairwell, having gone up there to check on Elena who was freshening up after god-knows how many days of captivity.

"She's dealing," Jeremy admitted. "But I don't know how she'll get past this. She's lost too many people already."

"So have you," Damon pointed out. "And yet you seem to still be around, irritating me at any given moment."

A ghost of a grin hovered on Jeremy's face.

"True," he conceded. "But someone has to take on that responsibility."

"Shut up," Damon mumbled, realizing he'd just received a dosage of sarcastic comeback in his own style. "You're becoming too much like me. It's scary."

Jeremy's ghost of a grin evolved into a full on smirk, before reality set in for them both and the mood became sombre again. They turned at the same time at the sound of footsteps, and Damon found himself being reminded of watching Elena descend the stairs at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, the same sense of breathlessness taking over him.

She looked worn down, yes, but the emotion on her face alone was reason enough to support the fact she was far better than her descendants.

As she descended, the front door opened and Stefan and Bonnie came in, their faces grim which didn't look like good news to Damon. His eyes darted back to Elena, who'd spotted Stefan and Bonnie and was starting to fly down the stairs, bowling towards Stefan before flinging her arms around him.

It shouldn't have bothered Damon, it really shouldn't. She was emotionally drained, she'd not seen Stefan in a long time, there would always be feelings there for him… And yet he could still feel his heart clench inside him like a fist, like the next person who looked at him funny would release it and end up being slammed against the wall in sheer frustration.

He found himself unable to look at anything else. The way Elena moved her head against the crook of Stefan's neck was torture enough, even though a part of him was screaming, _don't be selfish! Give her some time to grieve with her friends!_

He was more than relieved all the same when there was no tender kiss between them. Elena broke away from Stefan and immediately clung to Bonnie, the two of them retreating to a quiet corner where they could grieve together.

Damon sidled up to Stefan, taking in his dishevelled appearance and his frustrated, even bitter, expression and could immediately put two and two together.

"He's not dead, is he?" he muttered, trying to make sure Elena didn't hear.

"No." Stefan shook his head wearily. "He's not."

"Elijah?" Damon shrewdly guessed.

Stefan nodded.

Rather than punch Stefan in the face and give him three choruses of _I told you so _– which is what he really wanted to do – Damon let out a frustrated groan and sunk against the wall, finishing his drink and reaching for the bottle, downing what little liquor there was left inside it before promptly storming off, unable to process anything calmly at the moment.

"I'm so sorry, Elena," Bonnie whispered to Elena, as the two of them hugged fiercely.

"Caroline –, "Elena muttered brokenly. "What is she going to say? How are we going to tell her?"

Bonnie slapped a hand over her mouth, as if only just remembering Caroline, and the two huddled closer together, the sight of each other's shell-shocked expressions setting them off again.

"We went back and buried him, 'Lena," Bonnie told Elena softly, when they'd calmed down enough to be able to talk. "We'll go back and have a proper funeral. For him and John."

Elena nodded, wiping away the last of her tears.

"I can't handle any more death, Bonnie. I swear – "She sighed, trying to pull herself together. "A part of me just wants to leave Mystic Falls forever."

"I know," Bonnie sympathised, rubbing her shoulder. She bit her lip, averting her eyes as she added, "I wish I didn't have to tell you this. I hate being the bearer of even more bad news."

"What? What is it now?"

"We couldn't kill Klaus, Elena. Elijah betrayed us and took Klaus away before I could take them both down. I'm so sorry."

Elena staggered back from Bonnie, unable to take much more bad news. She looked at Stefan, at his sympathetic face, and felt like she was going to hurl. She spied a bottle of unopened bourbon in the lounge and made for it.

"Elena, no." Bonnie grabbed her hand. "This isn't the way to deal with things."

"Really?" Elena snapped. "How should I be dealing with it all, Bonnie? I've lost Matt, I died and then came back which resulted in my real father dying in my place, and now I find out that the psycho responsible for it all is still alive! You tell me how to deal, 'cause I don't know how anymore. I've tried switching myself off but it doesn't work. Bad things happen and I just – I just have to deal. I'm so close to just giving up now. Every time I think things can't get any worse, they do." She exhaled sharply, her temper deflating as quickly as it had inflated.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, evidence of her grief still in her voice. "I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

Bonnie stepped forward, taking her best friend in her arms.

"Don't ever apologize for saying what you feel," she murmured, feeling fresh tears bubble in the corners of her eyes. "I'm always here for you, Elena. I won't leave you."

Elena nodded against Bonnie, the two of them locked in a vice-like hug bound by grief and a friendship which had managed to stand the test of time over and over again, each time surfacing out of the flames like a phoenix more powerful and stronger than before.

Jeremy walked over tentatively, his face cautious before he threw an arm around each of the girls he loved and joined the hug, his chin resting on top of Elena's head. Stefan gave the faintest of smiles before leaving the three of them and retreating up the stairs, managing to find Damon sprawled on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, sensing the question was a rather stupid one.

"Not really, Stefan," Damon said, sitting up. "I didn't trust that weasel from the start but I thought maybe, just for once, we would have had some luck in actually getting some help." He slammed his fist angrily against the wall. "So much for him helping us kill his brother!"

"I'm not justifying what he did, Damon," Stefan began cautiously, "but I can sort of see where he came from."

Damon's head snapped up. "What?"

"The night you killed Lexie was the final straw for me," Stefan continued, swallowing painfully as he remembered that night. "I was determined to kill you – and I nearly did. And do you know what saved you that night?"

"Common sense? The fact you knew your life would be so much duller without me around? Your conscience?" Damon shrugged. "And I'm out."

"Elena," Stefan told him. "She told me not to kill you because I would have to live with that for the rest of my life. No matter what you'd done, a part of me knew killing you would be something I'd have to live with for the rest of eternity. And whilst I can't ever condone what Elijah did, I understand why he swapped loyalties in that moment."

And he briefly filled Damon in on what had gone down between Klaus and Elijah in those final crucial seconds.

"It was clearly a lie," was Damon's unsympathetic conclusion. "He was a moron for believing him."

"You can never be a moron, Damon, when it comes to family," Stefan said slowly. "Would you say I was a moron for keeping you alive?"

For once, Damon didn't know what to say. He always felt intensely uncomfortable whenever these type of discussions arose, because although he cared for Stefan, it wasn't something he was particularly happy acknowledging aloud. He would fight to the death for his brother, but that didn't mean family discussions like this made him feel comfortable.

"Once upon a time, I would've said yes," Stefan continued, oblivious to Damon's discomfort. "But everything you've done for Elena has not only proven you have humanity somewhere in your bones, but it has given me a reason to let you live. And I know you're probably thinking I could never take you out, and maybe you'd be right, but I'm tired of fighting you, Damon. It's exhausting fighting you over the past, fighting you over Elena."

"What is this, a truce?"

"Yeah, it's a truce." Stefan looked at him hard. "I know you like to pretend you don't care, Damon. It's the way you've always been. But you can't be like that around Elena. Whoever she ends up with – me, you, or someone else – she's going to need someone _real_, someone who isn't afraid to show their emotions around her. I'll protect Elena for as long as I have breath in my body."

"Kinda pipped ya to the post with that speech I'm afraid," Damon couldn't resist putting in.

"She needs someone who will love her and not be afraid to show it," Stefan spoke firmly, his words laced with sadness and regret. "And… if that ends up being you – "there was clear pain in his voice now – "well, you better damn well make sure you don't treat her like all the other girls you've charmed over the years and then dropped like they just don't matter."

Stunned into silence, Damon wondered whether people would ever cease to amaze him. It turned out it wasn't just humans he'd greatly underestimated.

"As touchingly sentimental as this is," he said, clearing his throat loudly, eager to skip past this awkward moment. "We need to catch up with Barbie. She needs to be caught up to speed."

There wasn't a trace of malice – pretend or otherwise – in his voice as he spoke about Caroline, which pleased Stefan. Maybe there would come a day when Damon would drop the hate-all-humans charade for good, living the rest of his days as the protector of their home town…

…But he wouldn't hold his breath.

* * *

Caroline hovered nervously around the door of the Boarding House. She'd had texts from Bonnie, Damon AND Stefan all saying the same thing – _come round. We need to talk. _

She knew the sacrifice ritual would've been over by now. What were they going to tell her, that Elena was dead? It was the news she was expecting, but just trying to picture them telling her in preparation had her shaking wildly. She wasn't a new-born vampire anymore but her emotions were still all over the place. Despite Bonnie's attempt at understanding her, it was hard to describe to her how it felt to be a vampire, and a young one at that. Every day was a struggle, both between her and her bloodlust, and between her and her emotions. If she let either take over her, someone would end up dead.

She knocked once, before letting herself in, as was the normal protocol for everyone around here. Her eyes didn't detect anyone in the corridor and so, cautiously, she walked towards the lounge where everyone usually congregated. And when her eyes spotted Elena, she forgot everything. At vampire speed, she ran and threw her arms around her best friend.

"You're alive," she gushed, feeling so relieved. "I am so happy." She briefly let Elena go to study her. "You're not a vampire are you? Oh, God, at this point, I don't even care!" She pulled her in for another hug. "Oh, thank God everything went alright."

"Well," Elena began, sounding nervous.

"I know I don't say it often," Caroline babbled on, oblivious to Elena's attempts to get her attention, "but you're my best friend, Elena. I love you so much. I'd do anything for you."

"I know, Car, I know," Elena said, patting her elbow awkwardly. "Listen, there's something I've gotta tell you."

"Okay," Caroline said, looking surprisingly attentive. "I'm here to listen, Elena, and I know that's not something I've done in the past but I'm here for you."

Elena's face crumpled with guilt at that admission from her best friend, and she looked to Bonnie for help who seemed to be wearing a similar expression.

"Look, you know Klaus took Jenna and turned her so he could sacrifice her," she began, holding Caroline's hands in hers.

"I heard. God, I'm so sorry," Caroline began.

"Not as sorry as I am," Elena interrupted, a slow, sad smile appearing on her face. "But we rescued Jenna, which meant Klaus had to get someone else to turn instead."

"And?"

Caroline clearly didn't see where this was going. Her innocence in this department physically pained her.

"Caroline… He turned Matt."

Everyone saw the look of oblivion on Caroline's face evolve into disbelief. The transition was painfully slow. Damon and Stefan, who'd entered the room at this point, wore matching expressions of discomfort, simultaneously folding their arms as they waited for the inevitable Caroline explosion to occur.

She looked around each individual, as if waiting for someone to contradict Elena's shocking confession. When no one did, she tried to put a different slant on the admission, trying to find some sort of way to make it sound like Matt was still alive, and when she couldn't, reality slammed into her. She made a tiny 'oh' noise, before her face crumpled.

Elena tried to hug her, but Caroline was having none of it. Unable to comprehend how the love of her life had managed to get involved after begging to make her forget everything so he wouldn't be involved, she looked at the range of emotions on people's faces; there was guilt, grief, devastation and wariness.

"I've, er, gotta go," she said abruptly, heading towards the door.

"Caroline…" Bonnie began, moving towards her friend.

"Bonnie…don't!" Caroline snapped, her face giving way for a flash of pain before she disappeared out of view.

After the silence that fell, Elena ran a weary hand through her head, rising to her feet with the intention of going after Caroline but Stefan held out a hand to stop her.

"I'll go," he told her firmly.

"Stefan, I'm her best friend…" Elena began.

"I know," he said gently, taking her hands. "But you need to grieve too before you can go anywhere near Caroline. You both loved him at one time or the other. I think she just needs to grieve in her own way."

Elena nodded, biting her lip and sinking back down on to the couch, laying her head in her hands as the combined guilt and grief took over.

"It's not your fault, Elena," Damon said from the doorway, making sure her eyes made contact with his so he could drone in the meaning of his words.

"I know," she replied flatly. "But it just feels like it is, you know?"

After a few moments, she rose to her feet again.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked quickly.

"To see Jenna."

"Do you think that's wise?" Bonnie demanded, looking worried.

"No," Elena admitted. "But I'm the reason she's in this mess. She needs to know we're all going to be here for her no matter what, that we aren't going to think any less of her because of what Klaus did to her."

"I'm coming with you," Jeremy immediately said.

"You don't have to – " she began.

"I know I don't have to," he cut across, staring at her. "But I want to. She's the only family we both have left."

Elena stared at him, his words ringing true across her mind. She closed her eyes, wishing she could detach herself from John's final sacrifice, pretend he didn't mean a damn thing to her in death as he hadn't meant a damn thing to her in life. But doing that for her, saving her life in exchange for losing his own, had opened her eyes to a lot of things, even the possibility that maybe, just maybe, John had loved her, in his own twisted way. She couldn't resent him for trying to protect her, even if she hadn't liked his methods.

"Okay," she agreed, smiling wanly at her brother. "Let's go."

She passed by Damon to get her coat, pausing to stare up at him.

"Need me to come?" he asked quietly.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, her eyes asking him a silent question, which he couldn't work out. "I'll be over here tonight."

"What, again?" he teased, pretending to look disgusted. "But you're always over here."

She didn't laugh, but he could sense she appreciated the effort in trying to regain some normality.

"Thank you," she murmured for his ears only.

He frowned. "For what?"

She gave him a look. "You know what."

He gave her a small smile, unable to give her much more than that.

"No problem."

* * *

Stefan didn't know Elena's friends as well as she did, naturally, but that didn't mean he didn't know exactly where to find Caroline. The old well in the woods held a lot of memories for Bonnie, Elena and Caroline from what Elena had told him whenever she mentioned her childhood. It had always been the place they went to in to order to just forget the world for one moment.

He found her sitting next to it, her knees curled up against her chest, her head buried on top of her knees. He'd never seen her look so utterly destroyed before, even after he'd found out she was a vampire and had killed someone.

Wordlessly, he sat next to her, deciding to let her be the first one to speak.

Minutes crawled by and she still hadn't said a word. He couldn't hear her crying, but then again that had always been the one area in which Caroline could remain utterly silent.

"You don't have to sit here with me you know," she eventually said, her voice muffled by her knees.

"I know," he replied. "But I want to be here."

She raised her head, her make up smudged and her cheeks bright red in colour. Her hair was messed up and her lips were trembling as she struggled to regain control of her emotions, but she'd never looked so human before in all her life. He was so proud of the fact she was one of the few vampires he'd come across who'd regained their humanity and held onto it so quickly.

"I'm not here to patronise you and tell you it'll be okay," Stefan said gently. "I don't know that it will. But I'm here to tell you that the pain gets easier over time."

"I don't want to shut it off, Stefan, before you ask…"

"I'm not suggesting you do. I think that's the worst thing you could do, in fact," Stefan replied, gazing into her sad eyes. "Do you remember me telling you to hang out with Matt because he was the closest thing you had to your humanity, and that hanging around him might do you some good?"

"Yeah." Caroline nodded. "And look how well _that_ turned out."

"I think despite everything that happened, he was the best thing to have ever happened to you. Even when you were human, and feeling your worst, he was there for you, and in his own way he never stopped being there for you. And you may not have ever meant to have ended up together, but you did. You fell in love and that's what helped you maintain your identity as a vampire."

She sniffed, looking intensely confused.

"Why are you telling me this, Stefan?"

He gave her a sad smile and took her hand in his, squeezing it lightly.

"Because I don't want you to do anything stupid, Caroline. When a particular emotion is heightened in a vampire – doesn't matter which one – they tend to let that emotion overrule them, and then they do something stupid," he explained. "Hell, when I was turned, I let my grief for Katherine turn into anger and greed and then I ended up hurting a lot of people. You might not realize this, but being a vampire was a blessing in disguise for you."

"How?" she demanded.

"You're a stronger, more confident person," he listed, keeping her hand in his all the while. "You don't take crap from anyone, even Damon, and you constantly work hard to be a better person. I've never seen anyone – _anyone_ – change for the better after being turned."

She gave him a watery smile, before letting her head drop on his shoulder.

"How do you always know the right things to say, Stefan?" she sighed.

Stefan smiled, pleased she seemed to be cheering up a little bit.

"I've had years of practice," he replied, which evoked a little giggle from her.

"Thank you, Stefan," Caroline said earnestly, her smile fading. "It means a lot that you came out here to find me."

"Hey, you can tell me anything," he said to her seriously. "I will always make time for you, Caroline."

She gave him a wobbly smile, which lasted about thirty seconds before she burst into tears again.

"Caroline?" He sounded troubled. "Was it something I said?"

"N-No," she stammered, a look of fright emerging on her face. "I came out here to grieve for Matt, and yet somehow it became all about this."

She ripped open her sleeve, revealing an ugly, dark bruise on her arm.

"What happened?" Stefan asked, taking her arm and gazing at the bruise in shock, doing a double take when he realized it wasn't so much a bruise as it was a wound. "How did you get this?"

"Tyler bit me as I tried to get him down to the cellar," Caroline explained, her breathing bordering on being classed as a panic attack. "I-I'm going to die aren't I?"

He looked at the bite mark, then at Caroline, and then back at the mark, stunned into silence when he realized he couldn't find the strength to answer.

* * *

**A/n: Please don't hate me for the cliffhanger. I was proud of this chapter, though I realize Damon may be a TINY bit OOC. And though I had no plans of including it, the pairing of Stefan/Caroline accidentally slipped in lol. But I don't think they'll end up together unless there's a huge demand for them, but I do love their friendship together. And I wanted Caroline to have the werewolf bite because that dynamic is going to play a huge role in the sequel. **

**Next chapter we see how Jenna deals with her new vampire identity and there's some Jenna/Alaric love so look forward to that! Tyler also comes back so there might be a forecast of Forwood in the upcoming chapter :D Thank you for reviewing! You've made me overjoyed with your responses. **


	29. Giving Up The Ghost

_Chapter 29: Giving Up the Ghost_

* * *

Elena's eyes fluttered open, vastly surprised to find herself surrounded by Egyptian cotton for a change. She pushed herself up, realizing to her surprise she was in a soft bed, not in Klaus's clutches. It took her a brief moment to remember the night's events and, when they'd caught up to her, she sunk back under the duvet, allowing the misery to swallow her alive.

Caroline had been avoiding her and Bonnie since they'd given her the news. After everyone she'd lost, she couldn't lose Caroline too. Not like this. Losing Matt still tore at her heart like wild claws. Every time she thought she could deal with it, she saw the stake plunge through his heart again and again, and a weird mewling sound would escape her lips before she had to close her eyes to escape the image. And after seeing Jenna's fragile state last night, she'd quickly made an excuse and fled to the bedroom where she'd sobbed for most of the night.

She eventually pushed the heavy duvet off and got up, pacing up and down the room for a few minutes before deciding her anxiety and worry levels were not going to be banished easily.

"Cute PJs," a familiar voice drawled.

Elena jumped, wondering when Damon's sudden appearances were going to stop scaring the crap out of her. He stood there, looking quite awkward for once, his hands shoved inside his pockets like he was a teenager again. His electric blue eyes met hers and she felt like there was something fundamental about what he was going to say to her.

"Er, thanks, I guess?" she replied slowly, confused by the compliment.

"Sleep well?" he asked, moving forwards.

"Yeah… Damon, what do you want exactly?" she enquired.

"Do I have to have a motive for checking up on you?" he asked drily. "Have we not been through enough to make you lose this sense of suspicion you always have had around me?"

She shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

"I guess," she admitted sheepishly. "Old habits, you know?"

There was a moment where she felt like by looking into his eyes she was gazing into his soul. For once, every emotion was on his face: fear, doubt, uncertainty, affection… And even then, she still found him difficult to read.

"I brought you this," he said eventually, holding out a silver charm bracelet. "It's not much, but in lieu of your necklace…"

Elena then remembered her necklace had been ripped off of her, and out of habit, she reached for her neck, feeling exposed somehow. She tentatively reached for the charm bracelet and saw the additions; there was a tiny little silver doe attached to it, as well as a little bat (she immediately got the irony and fought to hid a smile) and a few other little charms as well.

"The doe?" she prompted. "The bat I get, but the doe…?"

"Don't make me say it," he said, looking embarrassed. "It goes against the man code for me to even tell you."

"Why?" she quizzed him.

Damon gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes upwards, realizing his dignity was about to take a couple of severe hits for the worse.

"I added the doe, 'cause it's sort of like you," he mumbled, cringing at every word that had tumbled out. "If you were an animal, you'd be that."

She smiled, flattered by the compliment.

"Why?"

"Must we continue this charade?" he groaned, wishing he could dig himself out of this hole he'd inadvertently created. "A doe was my mother's favourite animal. She couldn't really understand the stag, but she liked the fact that the doe is one of Mother Nature's most maternal creatures. We used to go out together to watch this one doe look after her baby, and it would be my mother's favourite part of the day." He smiled at the memory. "She used to tell me that the doe, whilst appearing shy and timid to the rest of the world, was the bravest animal in the world, because she said, and I quote, that there is no greater challenge in the world than raising children. I'm ashamed to say she had high hopes for me, that's the kind of character she was."

"So, she would've loved Bambi then?" Elena guessed. "Well…she wouldn't, actually."

Damon chuckled.

"I guess not," he admitted. "I see so much of her in you, Elena, it's unreal."

Elena tilted her head to one side, suddenly confused.

"My mother was kind, courageous," Damon clarified. "Your eyes would follow her from the moment she entered the room. And of course, she was immensely protective of the ones she loved." His eyes fell on hers. "So, you can see why I think of her sometimes when I look at you."

Elena was stunned into silence, her bottom lip trembling with some kind of unidentifiable emotion. She gazed at the bracelet, a question popping up in her mind.

"Has it got - ?" she began.

"Vervain? Yes," Damon answered. "There's traces of it within the charms themselves and then there's some within the bracelet itself."

She nodded, her face turning downwards because she didn't want the sheer affection she felt for this man to be given away.

"I'm sorry, Elena," he said, his voice like velvet to her ears.

This made her head rise.

"What for?"

"For doing so many things to hurt you," he replied, his voice breaking a little.

He stepped forwards, his hands ever so hesitantly reaching out to sweep back a stray hair. She stared up at him, every part of her body aching with the same need to just reach up and kiss him. But the hurt and pain she felt inside her heart overweighed her for the moment, and so she simply stared at him, at his beautiful face and his electric blue eyes which, right now, were drawing her in.

"I forgive you," she whispered, realizing she'd forgiven him the moment he'd risked life and limb to save her, to save the people she loved.

His entire face relaxed, although his eyes continued to study her, as if searching for any trace of a lie. It struck her there and then that there was a possibility, nay a likely chance, that Damon had never heard those words before. He'd done so many bad, evil deeds, killed so many people, that forgiveness to him was probably a lost concept. The thought strangely saddened her.

She felt his hand softly graze the side of her face, and she felt this strange sort of loss when he pulled away. All became clear when he mouthed the word 'Jeremy' to her and gave her his usual impish grin.

Sure enough, Jeremy bounded into the room, more than relieved to see Elena there.

"Oh, good you're up," he exclaimed.

"What's up, Jer?" she asked, feeling the flush in her skin fade, thank goodness.

"We're having a short ceremony for Matt and John in the cemetery," he told her, his voice grave. "They're buried near Mom and Dad. You coming?"

"Of course," she said, feeling the weight return to her shoulders. "Let me get ready and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Sure," he said, narrowing his eyes in concern. "Will you be okay? He was your – And you used to…."

"I'll be fine," she said, though everyone could hear the lie in her voice. "It'll be hard being back in the cemetery, Jer, but I can handle it."

She gently squeezed his hand.

"Go and get Bonnie," she gently commanded. "And where is Caroline? Has anyone heard from her?"

"Not since her disappearing act, no," Jeremy admitted, scratching his head.

"Stefan caught up with her after she ran, said she needed some time to deal," Damon added.

Elena nodded, her eyes flooding with pain again. Jeremy shortly left the room, leaving Elena and Damon alone again.

"How's Jenna?" she asked, remembering Jenna's new situation.

"Dealing," Damon replied quietly, watching as she dug through the clothes Stefan had brought from her house to retrieve a short black dress suitable for a funeral. "Ric's handling her though. She's mostly worried about you but he's caught her up to speed by now. She knows everything."

"That's good," Elena said, her words tumbling out as she exhaled.

"Listen, I'll get her to adopt the Stefan diet if you like," he said, watching her feeble attempts at holding herself together. "Although maybe I'll steer her clear of deer…."

"No. She can have human blood. The blood bags only though," Elena said, her voice constricted. She turned to him, her eyes on begging mode. "You'll help her, right?"

"Consider it done," he told her, giving her a warm smile when he really wanted to do nothing more than just assault her lips.

But there was a time and a place, and this wasn't it.

"Thank you, Damon," she said gratefully.

"No problem," he replied, his eyes never losing their warmth, nor did they stray from hers, even when she looked away.

* * *

Her body jolted upwards, the same frightening nightmare plunging her out of the sweet surrender of slumber and into the dark coils of reality. Tossing back her hair, Jenna woke to find a familiar pair of eyes on hers, the same pair of eyes that had watched her as she'd rocked into an uneasy sleep.

"You don't have to watch me like this," Jenna mumbled, rising out of her bed. "I'm not a baby."

"I know," Alaric told her, his voice filled with compassion. "It's my fault you're like this, Jenna. If I had just been honest – "

"Oh, stop." She looked exasperated. "You and Elena are both singing the same tune. What's done is done."

The bloodlust again took her by surprise. Every part of her body felt alive and awake. She could hear Alaric's heart beating wildly, hear the blood pumping through his body, and found herself drawn to him, her face changing before she could stop it.

"Control it, Jenna," he told her, gripping one of her hands. "Think of Elena and Jeremy. Just think of something other than blood."

"I'm…trying…" she strained, her eyes snapping shut.

Still the veins around her eyes remained visible, and her teeth seemed to slip over her lips, her body only inches from his now. Unlike every other time, Alaric hadn't come prepared with his weapon stash. He just couldn't imagine driving a stake into her, even if it was with the intent to simply disarm her.

"Jenna…"

Damon had zoomed in out of nowhere, his eyes on hers.

"Look at me," he commanded. "Look at me…"

Jenna reluctantly pulled herself away from Alaric to look at Damon.

"It's gonna be hard to control yourself, but you'll need to do it," he said firmly. "Just tell yourself you're controlling the bloodlust and not the other way round. Think of someone close to you to stop yourself from attacking."

"I'm trying," she huffed. "I didn't ask for all this you know!"

"I know," he replied, his tone surprisingly gentle. "But if you harm anyone, Jenna, especially Elena, I will have to kill you."

Alaric made a loud noise of protest, but Damon waved him away impatiently.

"I'd rather have died than this," Jenna mumbled quietly, looking mortified.

Damon noticed the veins around her eyes seemed to have subsided, and he knew how to get through to her.

"The agony that you're feeling now?" he explained. "That's your humanity. All the pain, the anger you're feeling is what's gonna get you through this. If you don't give yourself over to the blood, if you control your own dosage, you can and will get through this."

She nodded, her face contorting with pain.

Damon presented her with a bag of blood, deciding to test her.

"I want you to take a sip of this and then stop," he instructed, giving Alaric a pointed look. "Prove to me you can control this."

Jenna eyed the bag hungrily, and then nodded.

"I will drive this stake into you if you can't," Damon warned her. "I promised Elena I would take care of you, but you need to take care of yourself too. If Caroline Forbes, of all people, can handle it, so can you."

"Okay," Jenna whispered, a shadow crossing her face.

He gave her the bag of blood, and he could see the struggle on her face immediately. Maybe asking for her to take one sip had been too cruel, he mused, but if she could restrain herself for that amount, then he knew he'd be able to guide her into restraining herself over larger quantities.

Both he and Alaric watched with baited breath as Jenna's lips hovered over the hole of the bag. She lifted it up, allowed the tiniest of drops of blood to escape down her throat, and then, with enormous difficulty, pulled the bag away from her mouth and flung it on the bed, her hands crawling across her face, a low sob escaping her.

"Good," Damon crooned. "See, that wasn't so bad?"

"Not so bad?" Jenna shrieked, glaring daggers at him. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do!"

"Maybe we should call it a day," Alaric suggested.

"No," Damon cut across. "One lesson isn't going to cut it. I'm gonna show you everything, Jenna, but you need to listen and learn. This is your life now. It's pointless crying about it."

"Oh, just screw her already!" Jenna suddenly cried, her hands flying off her face. "I know you're just doing this for Elena, so just screw her already and let me die. I don't want this life, Damon, I don't want to wake up with blood the first damn thing on my mind. So someone just stake me already, 'cause if you don't, I'll do it myself…"

"Don't," a small voice pleaded.

Jenna, Alaric and Damon looked at Elena who hovered by the doorway, her expression torn. She bit the corner of her lip and was fighting back tears, her eyes resting on Damon's.

"Please, Jenna, fight," she begged, moving forwards. "I know it won't be easy, but you can do it."

"Elena…" Jenna looked shocked at her niece's sudden appearance. "I can't… I can't do this. Hearing about all this was bad enough, but to be a part of it?" Tears flowed down her young face. "I can't be a vampire. I can't even handle you and Jeremy being a part of this world let alone myself!"

"But…"

"You know what the first thing I said when they asked me to take care of you and Jeremy was?" Jenna ploughed on, her eyes closed, her expression one of utter concentration. "Isn't there someone else who can do this?"

Elena looked hurt but made every effort to try and cut across Jenna's rant.

"You fight, damn it," Alaric growled, suddenly pissed off.

Everyone – barring Damon – flinched at Alaric's sudden change in tone. He grabbed Jenna's hands and roughly pulled her up, staring deep into her eyes.

"You won't fight for Elena, when she fought for you?" he asked, looking disgusted. "The Jenna I knew wouldn't have given up this easily."

"The Jenna you knew is _dead_," she shouted. "Look at me! I'm a _monster_!"

He suddenly pressed his lips against hers, in a completely unanticipated move. She took a while to respond, but when she did, she completely sunk into the kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck.

When he suddenly released her, she looked confused and hurt - but mostly confused.

"No, you're not," he told her. "And that right there… That proved it. You're still human, Jenna. And if I have to, I'll spend every day I ever get trying to convince you of that."

Jenna looked even more confused, but deflated as she sat back down on the bed, her expression conflicted.

"You can do this, Jenna," Elena told her firmly, moving forwards. "We're all here to help."

And, ignoring Damon and Alaric's worried looks, she sat down on the bed next to Jenna and carefully wrapped her arms around her, leaning her head against hers in a tender gesture of support.

"Okay," Jenna whispered fragilely. "I'll try."

"Atta girl, Jenna," Damon said, winking at her. "You'll soon come to love this life and its perks."

He quickly hid behind Alaric when the two women turned to glare at him.

"Too soon?"

* * *

With John's letter in her hands, Elena walked up to his unmarked grave and laid a single rose on top of it. Moving slowly, she rotated to Matt's and felt tears bubbling over in the corner of her eyes. All the memories – both before and after they'd decided to give being in a relationship together a go – came flooding back, each now tainted with a new kind of pain – the kind of pain that comes with wishing you'd lived in that moment more.

She could feel everyone staring at her, waiting to see if she'd fall apart, but she was going to be stronger than that. She kissed the palm of her hand and laid it flat on Matt's grave, as a way of letting him know she'd always loved him, if not in the way he'd wanted.

Caroline stepped forward, her eyes pale and bloodshot, and mirrored Elena's actions, lingering a while longer as her eyes travelled up and down the length of the grave, before she found it too much. She rose fluently, and turned to stare at Elena, the two of them having much more in common than they could ever have thought possible. And she suddenly knew the feeling Elena had had to live with all summer after her parent's deaths.

Stepping forward simultaneously, the two girls fell into a long embrace, before they stepped to one side, allowing others to pay their respects. Bonnie stepped forward next, her dark hair falling across her face. She knelt by Matt's grave, one hand hovering over the grave before muttering something, then watching as a bunch of beautiful white and red flowers cropped up out of the earth to mark where he was. A quiet sniffle of appreciation came from Caroline as Bonnie rose to her feet before they also shared a quiet embrace.

"Rest in peace, Matt," they said quietly together, before Caroline pulled away, the tears shining in the morning sun.

As the others moved to say their pieces, Elena moved quietly out of sight, heading to where the most familiar gravestone of them all was. She placed the spare rose she had collected across the grave of her parents, wondering what they would've thought of all this.

"Miranda and Grayson Gilbert," Damon read as he came up behind her.

"I thought I'd pay my respects while I was here," she sniffed, surprised when more tears started to produce themselves.

A gentle hand lay on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you've lost so many people, Elena. If there's anything I can do…"

It sounded so unbelievably cliché from other people, meaningless even, but from him…it meant more than she could ever say.

She rose to her feet, staring into his eyes, her only wish being for him to hold her. As inappropriate as it sounded, the attraction between the two of them had never seemed so obvious before. Dressed in a suit, he looked every bit the dashing suitor, and in her short black dress she looked every bit the damsel in distress. And they could read in each other's eyes how deep the attraction went, but it seemed time was not on their side. It was never the right moment, or the right time, and truthfully it seemed easier battling their emotions than trying to figure out what kind of a future they could've built together.

"I'll be okay, Damon," she said quietly, wondering if that was even true, unable to stop herself from remembering that conversation she'd had with Stefan when she'd first met him.

_"You know for months that's all everyone's ever wondered about me. If I'll be okay."_

_"What do you tell them?"_

_"That I'll be fine."_

_"Do you ever mean it?"_

_"Ask me tomorrow."_

Her future looked uncertain as it could've ever been right now because, with the entire town believing she was dead, she couldn't go anywhere but the boarding house. She was stuck in one place.

As if reading her mind, Damon said, "At some point we'll need to talk about what to do with this whole _everyone-thinks-you-are-dead_ situation."

"There's nothing we can do, Damon. If I'm honest, I'm kind of relieved," she admitted.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I've been looking for a reason to leave for a long time," she said, chewing her lip. "Not because of Stefan - not because of anyone, really, - but because there's too much misery here for me. Too much drama in one small town."

"There's always going to be drama, Elena," he reminded her. "There are other things out there. Klaus is out there. You're safer here where we can all keep an eye on you."

"But I'll be essentially a prisoner," she countered. "I won't be able to go anywhere."

"Works with me."

"Damon!" she snapped. "A person can't live like that!"

"No, true, but I'm not letting you out of my sight again," he told her. "It's not something I'm going to discuss any further."

"So I have no choice in the matter? Just like always?" Elena spat out, looking irritated. "That's just terrific, Damon. I escape from one prison only to end up in another."

He flinched at her tone but didn't back down.

"I don't care if you don't like it. It's what needs to be done to keep you safe," he reasoned.

"It's not all about me!" she seethed. "There's a bigger picture, Damon!"

Damon fought the urge to roll his eyes. How could she not see that as far as he was concerned she was the bigger picture? How could she not see the lengths he was willing to go to in order to keep her safe? When would she open her eyes and just _see _him?

"I'm not being a prisoner, Damon," Elena said, her tone softer.

She gripped his hands, unaware of the sparks that were currently running up and down his body.

"Look, we can talk about this later," she said, noticing the others were starting to head their way. "But whether you like it or not, leaving Mystic Falls is my only option."

And she walked past him, unaware that the wheels of his mind were whirring around and around as another plan formulated in his mind, a plan that, for once, he had absolutely no idea how she would react to it.

But there was one point he knew under no circumstances would ever change.

He was not losing her.

* * *

Caroline was alone in the cemetery, having requested the others to leave her alone for a bit. A cold breeze suddenly picked up, causing her to shudder and pull her little jacket closer to her chest.

"Caroline."

A familiar voice caught her attention. She slowly turned, surprised to see Tyler standing there, his hands shoved inside his pocket.

"Tyler?" she said, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Matt," Tyler simply said, his face, for once, expressionless.

He shuffled forwards, his eyes drawn to the grave she was standing by. As if unable to believe he was really gone, Tyler had to blink several times.

"How did you - ?"

"Elena called me," he replied numbly. "Thought I should come and say goodbye to him." His voice cracked on the last word. "This is unreal. I mean – I saw Matt yesterday. I saw him. And now…."

"I know, Tyler." Caroline's expression began to break again. "I know."

And she folded her arms around him as they shared a tender embrace in the cold. She could feel his entire body shaking, as if he was transforming again, and out of habit scratched at her wound. There was no need to tell Tyler what he'd done – he already berated her for helping him in the first place, and she knew she would've helped him time and time again, even now after the events that had happened.

When they pulled away, she could see Tyler struggling for words, and she realized she may have lost her boyfriend, her one true love, but he'd lost so much more. He'd lost a drinking buddy, a teammate, a best friend…. The list went on.

"How are you doing?" he suddenly asked, as if he was suddenly aware she'd lost him too.

"So-so," she admitted. "It's so hard knowing he's not coming back, and sometimes I have to stop myself from locking myself in my room and listening to Air Supply's greatest hits just because it was Matt's thing to do."

She bit back a sob, her hand covering her mouth so it didn't escape her. She looked away, looking for a distraction except there was nothing but the pain to distract her.

"He wanted me to make him forget you know," she said numbly, staring at the grave. "Wanted me to take away his memories of us, of everything supernatural. And in the end, it didn't even matter because he got dragged into it anyway."

"It's not your fault, Caroline," Tyler told her, throwing an arm around her and bringing her closer towards him. "Matt loved you. I know because even when he was trying not to think about you, you were all he was thinking about anyway. Couldn't get a sentence out of him some days."

She smiled weakly at him, appreciating the effort. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she felt the bite twinge beneath her skin and she repressed a shudder of pain. She didn't need to think about that right now.

"How you feeling?" she asked without moving.

"Well, the surprise transformation certainly played havoc with my muscles," Tyler admitted. "But I couldn't have gotten through it without you, Car. Thank you so much."

Caroline looked up at him and smiled.

"You're welcome. Any time."

Remaining close together, they both mourned for the friend they'd loved and lost. And somewhere in the process of grieving, they found their hands ended up entwining, both of them united with this eternal loss, and just for that moment they felt the tiniest bit of warmth flood their bodies and, for an even shorter amount of time, their hearts.

* * *

**A/n: Two chapters left folks! But there's a sequel in the mix so don't worry. Still can't get over how fantastically received this fic is. You guys are awesome! The title of this chapter comes from a title of a song from the soundtrack of the TV show Lost in case you were wondering. **


	30. Eyes Wide Open

_Chapter 30: Eyes Wide Open_

* * *

Bonnie was curled up in the chair when Stefan found her, her eyes closed and her body still. He hated to have to do this to her after the day's events but Bonnie knew how to keep a secret, and she was also the only person who could've helped. With Elena suitably distracted by Damon, who didn't know either thank God, otherwise the situation could've been made even more needlessly complicated, he could try and save Caroline without everyone trying to pitch in at once.

"Bonnie," he called softly.

He shook her gently, surprised when she responded at once.

"Stefan?" she asked, looking surprised. "What's going on?"

She yawned, causing a trickle of guilt to run down Stefan's spine. He'd rather have let Bonnie sleep on but this was something urgent that couldn't wait. The quicker they acted, the more chance they had of actually saving Caroline's life, providing there was a cure in some shape or form.

"I need your help," he said, making sure no one was in earshot.

Bonnie scrutinised his expression carefully, sensing the urgency in the request. She sat up, scooping her legs from the side of the chair she'd been lying across, and then rose to her feet.

"What's happened?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet to match Stefan's.

"Caroline. She's been bitten by a werewolf. Tyler, to be exact," Stefan explained.

"Oh my God," Bonnie gasped, her entire face crumpling with shock and pain. "She's going to – Oh, no! No, no, no! Stefan, we can't let that happen!"

"I know," he said grimly. "That's why I came to you for help. Do you think those witches would know about a cure?"

"I honestly don't know," Bonnie admitted, still struggling to cope with the news that Caroline was living on borrowed time. "They gave me a warning about having too much power, but weren't really forthcoming with much else. It's gotta be worth a try though, right?"

"It's what I'm thinking," Stefan agreed. "Shall we…?"

"I'll grab my coat," Bonnie said hurriedly, rushing into life.

Jeremy came into the room at that point, stopping as he saw the flurry of life before him. He arched an eyebrow at Bonnie's slightly panicked look, surprised when Stefan's usually composed expression seemed to be exactly the same.

"What's going on?" he quizzed.

"Jeremy, stay here. We'll be back in a couple of hours," Bonnie told him. "It's just an errand."

"You always look terrified of doing errands?" Jeremy asked sarcastically. "Look, no more secrets. What is actually going on?"

"It's Caroline," Bonnie snapped, grabbing Jeremy's hand and pulling him out the front door for privacy purposes as she and Stefan raced towards her car. "Keep your mouth shut, Jeremy, because we don't need or want Elena to find out. She's lost enough people without losing Caroline too."

"I'm coming," Jeremy said pointedly.

"Figured you'd say that," she said, putting her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "But I'm putting my foot down. I don't know how the witches are gonna react to me talking to them again. I'm not putting you in the firing line if something goes wrong."

"You don't have a choice. I'm coming."

"Jeremy," Bonnie warned. "You always moan about not being useful. I get it. But right now, you need to be a good brother to Elena. We've only just got her back and you're thinking of risking your neck again? No. I'm putting my foot down, Jeremy. You're staying, or I'll make you stay."

Jeremy gritted his teeth and locked his eyes on hers, all his frustration and worry combining into a single glare. Sensing he was fighting a losing battle, however, he backed down much to Bonnie's relief.

"Make sure Elena doesn't find out," Bonnie warned, giving him a soft smile.

"I will, so long as you don't do anything stupid," he countered, before walking back inside the house.

Bonnie stared after him.

"Am I treating him too much like a kid?" she wondered aloud. "It's so hard to get out of that _Jeremy is Elena's kid brother _phase."

"You want to protect him," Stefan replied gently. "I get it. He understands too, Bonnie. He just wants to help."

"I know." She sighed, conflicted. "Well, let's do this."

"I don't like lying to Elena any more than you don't like telling Jeremy what to do," Stefan told her, frowning. "The sooner we find a cure, the better."

"If there even is one," Bonnie said, biting the inside of her cheek, every inch of her tense and terrified.

Stefan put a hand on her shoulder, the resolve in both sets of eyes shining fiercely.

"I won't let anything happen to Caroline," he told her firmly. "She won't die."

Nodding as best as she could despite the fact her entire brain had been warped with images of Caroline dying, Bonnie gave Stefan a quick grateful smile before flinging open her car door and getting inside, silently praying with all her heart that there was still hope.

* * *

Elena watched with her arms folded as Damon and Alaric led a tentative Jenna out of the door. Bonnie had fashioned Jenna a ring earlier which enabled her to walk in the sun, but that didn't mean there wasn't the tiniest part of her which reacted in shock when Jenna made contact with the sun and there wasn't that burning sound, the kind of sound leaves made when in contact with fire.

"Wow," Jenna breathed, looking a little bit livelier since her earlier tantrum. "I feel like I've not seen the sun in ages."

"I'm gonna show you how to hunt animals," Damon told her. "If you decide you like human blood better, I'll get you blood bags. But I want this to be your choice, Jenna. And I promise if you go for the cute squirrels and the Bambis of the world, I won't make fun for at least a week."

Jenna gave a derisive snort, as if doubting that point, before she then remembered something.

"Didn't you say human blood is better though? That that's the kind of blood my body will be craving?" she asked, unable to hide the revulsion on her face.

"Sure," Damon said, shrugging his shoulders. "But there are always exceptions to every rule. You might be that exception. And I owe it to you to try, since it's my fault you're in this mess."

"No, it's not," Jenna insisted, before she caught sight of his surprised expression. "Well, maybe a little, but you weren't with that Klaus guy. That freak, I should say. I always thought evil was kept in story books, and in the odd Logan Fell type of guy," she rectified, her eyes drifting to Elena's. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep you from that kind of evil, Elena. I failed you."

"No," Elena sighed, looking upset. "I failed _you._ Look at what you are. It's my fault."

"So you asked to be kidnapped?"

"I certainly didn't walk away from all of this when I should've!"

"Ladies, ladies…" Damon looked from one to the other. "I'll save you both time and tell you it's neither one of your faults. Now, quit yapping and let's get moving."

He gave Elena a meaningful look before steering both Jenna and Alaric in the direction of the woods. She hovered around for a moment before going back inside, hating the feeling of being a prisoner again. Sure, this scenario was better than the one with Klaus, but she knew she couldn't live like this forever.

She was extremely grateful for the lengths Damon was going to in order to help Jenna. She was seeing a side of him she'd never imagined possible, and she knew sooner or later she was going to have to admit to herself that the ache she felt in her heart when he disappeared, even for the briefest of moments, signalled that they had moved beyond the friendship stages at this point. She was pretty sure she'd fallen for him, and sooner or later was going to have to address that.

As she wandered inside, she felt a sudden rush of air before she realized she was being slammed up against the wall. Out of instinct, Elena kicked out, a scream building up in her throat before a hand slammed down against her mouth, instantly repressing it.

Her eyes adjusted and she saw Katherine and instantly relaxed… Well, not too much considering it was Katherine, but enough to make the hand against her mouth slide off.

"Katherine," she spat.

"Not quite…" her vociferous lookalike sung.

She frowned.

"If you're not Katherine," she said, looking wary.

"I'm Cat, short for Capricia," Cat lazily introduced, eyeing her up and down. "I thought I'd finally lay eyes on the final doppelganger."

"Final…" Elena gasped, clutching at her throat out of instinct, her mind instinctively jumping ahead to a grizzly conclusion.

"I'm not gonna kill ya," Cat said, rolling her eyes. "Geez, you need to relax more! I'm here to deliver this."

She handed over a small bundle, wrapped up in a cloth. Elena took it cautiously, taking a peep at the contents of the bundle. It was a dagger, that much she could gather. The blade was fairly long but sharp, and yet it looked slightly worn by time. She didn't quite know what to do with it, yet held it all the same the way you would hold a baby.

"What is this?" she asked suspiciously.

"The Petrova doppelganger," Cat said quietly, stroking the handle with an almost scary type of affection. "It's what's going to kill Klaus, seeing how Elijah messed up the original plan." She spotted Elena's look. "Oh, yes, I've been keeping up to date with your little vampire clan and their various attempts at protecting you. This is what they needed all along. You shove this bad boy into Klaus's heart, it'll end him. The blade is made from a rare type of steel while the handle I actually watched being made."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Elena asked suspiciously. "Why not Damon, or Stefan?"

"Because they're not Petrovas, are they?" Cat asked, raising an eyebrow. "The Petrova line is the single most important bloodline in the vampire world. Everyone who has been lucky enough – or unlucky, depending on your viewpoint – to be born into the Petrova line has ended up becoming entwined with this dark world. Some were forced into it, others leaped, and some," she eyed Elena thoughtfully, "remain standing on the brink."

She unsheathed the dagger from the small leather pouch, smiling as the light bounced off the blade.

"This is what Klaus has feared will end up in the hands of a Petrova," she said, her voice soft as velvet. "And I've kept it out of sight, out of memory, for so long, I reckon he believes it's a lost cause. Which is exactly what I'm counting on."

"How does it work?" Elena asked doubtfully. "What's so special about it?"

"There have been many myths concerning this beauty," Cat explained, balancing it on the palm of her hand. "Not a damn thing you've heard from Klaus regarding this, if you've even heard anything about it, is true. Yes, Klaus came a courting me, and yes, my trip to vampire world was a stupid accident due to a bout of clumsiness. But the bit about my father and a witch?" She snorted. "Sounds like the set up to a bad joke, don't you think? No, my father died before I was born, and my mother raised me as best I could. But there was a local Shaman in our village who predicted I'd end up as something dark and monstrous, and my village turned their backs on me and my mother."

Elena found herself enthralled by the tale despite herself.

"How did Klaus come into it?"

"I'm getting to that part. You humans are so impatient," Cat sniped. "God… Anyway, me and my mother settled somewhere nearby, where several rumours were floating around of a dark family just outside the borders. My mother grew restless, tried to uproot us again but I was tired of running. And I met Klaus one night. And I fell for him. Call me a bluff old romantic but I believed I could settle with him. He'd just migrated there with his brother, Elijah, although I could sense some rivalry between them. And he soon invited me into his dark world, offering me comfort and protection, making me accept without even realizing I hadn't even a choice in the matter. But my mother saw what was happening and got some men and another Shaman to make this dagger. In it she poured her vengeance and love for me, getting me to seal the power in it with a few drops of blood. The idea was for me to stab him, thus ending his reign of terror forever, and then run."

"Wait a minute." Elena waved a hand impatiently. "How did you know to distrust him if you were under his compulsion?"

"Vervain, duh," Cat snorted. "Although it hadn't a name, we managed to observe the powers of Klaus seemed diminished when we were touching or exposed to a certain type of herb. So she began feeding me it in secret, or weaving it into my clothes. The plan was to lure Klaus to an empty field with the promise I would run away with me. And it worked to a point. I got him alone, had the dagger in my hand, and took his blood, not really believing taking it would do any harm. When Elijah came, I saw I was going to be outnumbered and I attempted to run."

"And you fell," Elena remembered.

"Broke my damn neck like the clumsy idiot I was," Cat grimaced. "When I awoke, I was in the middle of the woods alone. My mother had disappeared. I never found out what happened to her, but I suspect Klaus killed her."

"I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be." Cat shrugged off the apology. "It was a _very_ long time ago."

"Why did Klaus lie about it being your father being the one to protect you, not your mother?" Elena wondered. "He made it seem like he'd exacted his revenge."

"He didn't know at the time how I managed to get away," Cat said, absent-mindedly tossing the dagger from one hand to the other. "But when he found out, I can only assume he didn't want the entire vampire world to know he'd been bested by a mother's love. It's why the whole damn story is so twisted and warped. Once I knew what I was, I knew he'd come back for me, although I didn't know why."

"So, that's why you came here," Elena guessed, her eyebrows up near her hair at this point. "You heard Klaus was back and came to finish the job."

"Uh-huh," Cat said, eying Elena carefully. "I might appear to be Katherine's double in both appearance and nature, but I am more like you than you think, Elena. I know the importance of a mother's love. She saved my life in more ways than one, even though I stand here today in the twenty-first century in clothes she would describe as abhorrent and indecent."

She briefly grinned.

"Klaus said you had a child and you gave her up," Elena recalled, her eyebrows twisting with sadness. "Why?"

"This was before I was turned, before I'd met Klaus," Cat remembered. "I'd fallen for a young stable boy, and in the way of many a young woman today, we broke every single rule and ended up conceiving and having a child together, something that was considered a heinous crime at the time. You won't find many records of her, my baby girl. Like Katherine I was forced to give up my baby, forced to flee." She upturned her hands, a brief glimmer of an undetermined emotion surfacing. "Such was the way of it in those days."

"What did you name her?"

"I didn't get chance to name her," Cat said stiffly.

Elena couldn't help but notice her legacy so far consisted of teenage mothers who were forced to abandon their children. It wasn't a very comforting thought, but she had to admit it was nice to see at least one of her ancestors displaying a shred of humanity.

"Forgive me, but I thought you and Katherine were more alike than you and I were. I thought you were – "

"Selfish? Dangerous? Psychopathic?" Cat guessed. "I am. I've killed more times than I like to count. I don't particularly care for human life, but I guess this I suppose counts as my one act of kindness. I'm sort of a blend of you and Katherine. Or, to put it simpler, Katherine took the bad parts of me, and you took the good parts. 'Course you're still human. It might be kinda interesting to see how you'd react to vampire life, but I digress…"

"How does this dagger work then?" Elena repeated her earlier question, turning her eyes back to the dagger.

"It works by sacrifice," Cat said slowly. "Two Petrovas shed their blood and the dagger sort of…ingests it. The third then uses the dagger to kill Klaus. Three's kinda the magic number in witchcraft, contrary to popular belief." Her smile faded. "It has to be you that ends him, Elena. Isobel, your birth mother, I believe was searching for this. She wanted to be one of the two that gave up their lives for this."

"I hardly believe that," Elena snorted. "She doesn't give a damn about me."

"Oh, I hardly believe that," Cat scoffed. "She returned didn't she? She joined the fight to save you did she not? Don't look at our legacy being a bunch of young and naïve mothers forced to give up their children, Elena, but as a legacy of mothers who always tried their best by their children. I watched my child grow up from the shadows – the one human being I can honestly say I cared about."

Elena looked down, trying to pretend she wasn't affected by the words Cat was saying, trying to pretend a sliver of affection for her kin wasn't dawning inside the corners of her heart. Katherine had been a harsh lesson regarding who to trust; for all she knew, Cat could've been fabricating a pretty story just to keep her attention on her before killing her. But, maybe it was her being naïve, there was a glimpse of humanity in her that maybe time had managed to revive. There was a bare kind of honesty between them and Elena could begrudgingly accept, for the first time, that she was related to her.

"I'm guessing Katherine became one of the sacrifices," she guessed. "Although, I imagine it was a reluctant effort on her part."

"I killed her," Cat admitted shamelessly. "She needed some sort of redemption."

"And you killing her achieved that?" Elena asked sceptically.

"Well, she's going to help put an end to Klaus if you keep up your side of the plan," Cat replied, her gaze intense and meaningful. "And, really, she puts up this cold façade of not giving a damn about anything but herself, but her love for that Stefan boy was rather too see through. And she called _me_ thinking I could help. And hell, she saved your life; maybe there was some hope for her after all."

"What?" Elena asked quietly. "Katherine saved me? Why? How?"

"Ask your pet, Damon," Cat replied airily. "In a small way, Katherine did achieve her own redemption. But she was getting rather annoying."

There was an awkward pause.

"So, what now?" Elena asked, looking at the blade nervously. "Who is the second sacrifice?"

"Me," Cat said simply, her grip on the handle suddenly giving off a new meaning.

"No," Elena said, a note of pleading entering her voice. "Don't. We can talk. I need to know more…"

"No, you don't," Cat told her. "All you need to know is that whatever happens is in your blood. You know your own mind, Elena, and you know what you have to do to survive. You're a Petrova. Accept it. Accept the fire in your blood or you're gonna face an eternity of denial. And that gets boring after a couple of centuries, believe me. You're better off accepting it and moving on."

"But my legacy…" Elena struggled with her words. "I don't want to be a vampire."

"Then that's your choice. I didn't say we all ended up like vampires, just that we all ended up being entwined in this dark world. Just…stick to your guns and you'll be fine," Cat advised. "And if I've been a bitch to your friends… Well, they can suck it up. I'm cutting this ridiculous monologue to a stop." She gave Elena a grin. "Bye, Elena. Try not to screw up this opportunity."

And she jammed the dagger into her heart, letting out a sharp gasp of pain before crumpling to the ground. Elena felt herself drop to her knees, every breath in her body evaporating into nowhere. Her face whitened as she looked down at the dagger sticking out of Cat's chest, and she closed her eyes.

She didn't want to be the one to kill Klaus.

She didn't want this to be her destiny.

But it seemed she had no choice, as usual.

She was beginning to think she'd never had a choice.

* * *

Cocooned in the darkness, Stefan watched as Bonnie, surrounded by candle lights, closed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. He thought of Caroline and then of Elena, his heart giving a weak, almost heart hearted throb at the thought of her reaction.

Suddenly, Bonnie's eyes flew open, her aura suddenly filling with confidence, and he instinctively knew it wasn't her.

"Stefan," Bonnie said, her voice not quite her own.

"Emily," he returned, equally as polite.

"What can I help you with?"

"I need to know the cure for a werewolf bite."

Emily, through Bonnie, bristled.

"There is no cure," she said calmly, almost indifferently.

Stefan sighed, expecting she wouldn't be helpful.

"There has to be a cure, Emily. Caroline doesn't deserve this! She doesn't deserve to die this way."

"The girl has been dealt her fate and she must deal with it," was Emily's cold reply.

"You're supposed to be the balancers of nature!" Stefan yelled. "What part of this is balance? This isn't balance… This is punishment."

"Whatever for?" Emily asked mildly.

"For me choosing to be what I am," he said through gritted teeth. "For allowing Damon to live. For failing to kill Klaus. Pick whichever damn reason you like."

"I cannot give you the cure, Stefan…"

His ears pricked up.

"So there is a cure to give?" he asked eagerly.

The room started to shake however before he could ask any further questions, and Bonnie began to come back to life, her eyes darting around the room in fear.

"Bonnie, you okay?" Stefan asked her, gripping her arm. "Did they say anything?"

"They refused to give me any details, but I did get a name of someone who could help," she replied resignedly.

"Which was?" Stefan prompted impatiently.

"Klaus," Bonnie said quietly. "They said Klaus."

Stefan looked faintly horrified, and he allowed his head to fall into his hands. It sort of figured that even after everything, the means to the end would've been Klaus. It all lead back to Klaus.

And he knew for Elena, for Caroline even, it wasn't going to take long until he persuaded himself to find the energy to track Klaus down and get the answers he needed.

He saw by Bonnie's combined resigned and frustrated expression she was thinking along the exact same lines as him.

And rather than acting as a deterrent, it just added fuel to the fire of his determination.

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"Damon…" Elena sighed heavily. "It's what I have to do."

"I understand… Well, actually no I don't, that's why I'm stopping you," Damon fired back, his eyes blazing with anger. "Of all the stupid, idiotic plans, this tops every single list in the entire history of ever! Why would you voluntarily seek out Klaus? Why?"

"Because I have to be the one that kills him," Elena yelled at him. "What don't you get about that?"

"And you're getting this from, who, Miss Suicide here?" Damon yelled back. "She's hardly Miss Reliable now, is she?"

"What makes you think she can't be trusted, Damon, huh?" Elena asked, jabbing a finger against Damon's chest.

"She's – She's related to Katherine!" Damon spluttered.

"Newsflash! So am I!" Elena roared. "So technically that makes me a backstabbing, psychopathic bitch too, if we're to go by your earlier words!"

"Elena, you're different," Damon reasoned. "You're good, you're kind, you're not _them_! Both Cat and Katherine sacrificed their humanity long ago. She was lying to you!"

"She lied to me and then killed herself? Are you honestly saying that, Damon, 'cause I thought you had more brain cells than that?"

Damon gaped at her.

"Seeking out Klaus will get you killed, Elena, don't you see that?" he demanded. "Look, if the dagger means so much to you, I'll take it and shove it right up his – "

"Damon!"

"I'm kidding," he informed her. "But the point is, why does it _have_ to be you? Tell me that. Why not me?"

"Because I'm a Petrova. I've got to do it," Elena told him, folding her arms as if that magically explained everything.

"Oh, thanks. That explains everything. Off you go," Damon said sarcastically. "Would you like to give me vague non-answers to anything else? I'd dread to ask you anything serious, like what colour the sky is. I might get math for my answer instead!"

"You are such an ass," she growled. "You have a one track mind when it comes to this sort of thing, Damon."

"One track mind…" He scoffed at the term. "Says the girl whose plans always centre around some form of heroic sacrifice, a noble trip to martyrdom." He gave an exaggerated yawn. "Been there, done that, fell asleep during the premiere of it!"

She pushed past him angrily.

"I knew you'd be unsupportive of this," she said, looking irritated and hurt. "You're always quick to shoot down a plan if there's a risk of me getting hurt. I can understand why you do, Damon, but why am I so important in the grand scheme of things and someone, say Bonnie, isn't? Why am I worth keeping around?"

Damon sighed, realizing she was literally driving him into this. Well, there was no way back. This was a one way ticket to hell.

"Don't you get it?" he growled, suddenly in front of her. "I love you, you damn silly woman! I've always loved you! If I'm overprotective, it's because I'm trying to make sure I still have someone to protect!"

It was her turn to gape at him.

"Damon, I…." She bit her lip. "Damon…"

"Feel free to shoot me down," he said dismissively. "But if you think for one moment, I'm doing this out of spite, or because I get a kick out of it, then you clearly do not know one thing about me!"

He turned to leave, having delivered the perfect line to storm out to.

"Damon!" she protested.

"What?" he demanded angrily, whirling around, his eyes ablaze.

"You can't – I just …"

"What? WHAT?" he repeated, frustrated.

She didn't even plan it, but suddenly her hands were on his face, her lips pressing hungrily against his. He returned the kiss uncertainly, the passion deriving from both anger and just mindless irritation at how crazy they were driving each other. She released him, their lips making a loud _SMACK!_ as they parted from each other. He traced his lips where hers had been, his mind reeling from the sudden contact, and suddenly he was kissing her again, ignoring everything.

Elena gripped the back of Damon's head, manually deepening the kiss. His fingers were through her hair, running their way down her back causing every part of her to tingle. All she knew was that though she hated him in this moment, she'd never wanted him more.

He steered her towards his bed, their thoughts taking an unexpected direction. Her legs wound their way around his waist, their heavy breaths and the odd moan egging them on. His lips moved to her neck and she stopped breathing for one moment, every part of her coming alive at his touch. She clawed off his jacket, reaching for his shirt, almost ripping it off him so badly did she need this moment.

And though this could've been just a random hook up, it felt like anything but. As clothes came off – some coming off with a tearing sound – and lips combined again and again, all Damon and Elena could think off was _finally._

Want and need became the same word. Every desire they'd fought to conceal over the past few weeks – maybe longer, it was hard to deal how repressed they'd actually been – was unravelling before them. It should've been scary, but after a moment it just became natural.

Hands travelled everywhere, occasionally entwining whenever they met up, and two sets of eyes – one set electric blue, the other a warm chocolate brown – met frequently, no sign of regret in either. Elena hadn't anticipated the warmth of Damon's body, or how he knew just where to go, where to touch to set off fireworks inside her mind, inside her heart. Likewise, Damon hadn't anticipated the expertise with which Elena's fingers ran along his skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their path, or how his body would physically bolt upwards when her teeth scaled his earlobe. This was literally driving them wild, and all their pent up frustrations with each other finally had a purpose.

And as they resurfaced for a breath, they knew this was going to be a hell of a night as they found each touch – accidental or otherwise – had them tumbling back into each other's arms, the whole moment starting all over again.

* * *

**A/n: All I can say about this chapter is… it was my favourite to write. And if the ending disgusts you, well, all I could say is it could've been a lot more graphic. Go read some M-rated smut and you'll see what I mean. :P Final chapter now, which will hopefully nicely set up the sequel. :) For those who wanted Katherine to have a redeeming moment, I hope this chapter somewhat explains how she did eventually have that moment. **


	31. Crossroads

_Chapter 31: Crossroads_

* * *

She opened her eyes, wondering where this intense feeling inside her had suddenly come from. She turned over and nearly screamed, having almost forgotten what had occurred between her and Damon, not because it hadn't been memorable but because it had felt so unreal.

Elena couldn't really tell if Damon was sleeping or not. His head was turned to one side, making him appear oddly vulnerable. She turned back her head, trying to figure out whether all the giddiness she was feeling could be labelled as a good thing or not. On the one hand, she no longer felt irritated and angry, and she was left feeling oddly satisfied, as if a centuries' worth of desire had finally been fulfilled as opposed to just a few weeks' worth.

But on the other hand, had it been right to leap into something like that? She didn't really see Damon as the romantic type, but she'd built a picture in her head of how this moment could've gone. She discovered her ripped top from under her pillow and gave a forlorn sigh, knowing what this had been had been a chance to release pent up feelings rather than about two souls connecting.

"Thinking about me?"

She didn't jump like she thought she would've done. Damon's head turned, his usual smirk set in place.

"Morning, Damon," she said, throwing back the quilt and rising to her feet.

"Trying to pretend it didn't happen?" Damon asked, watching her pace up and down.

"No," she snapped, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "I'm just trying…"

"To work out what we did?" Damon sat up, immediately looking cocky. "Well, Elena, when a man loves a woman…"

"I don't need the birds and the bees talk from you," she snapped, looking inexplicably nervous. "Damon… That last night… That wasn't me. Well, it was… But that isn't what I normally do. You've gotta believe that. I'm the not that girl who jumps into bed with someone just because she has…has…_needs_! I'm not honestly… And I wouldn't want you to…"

"Want me to what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes before realization hit. "Elena… I'm not going to think any less of you if that's what you're thinking. In case you hadn't noticed, last night was pretty much the epitome of a mutual act."

She didn't smile. Her arms wrapped around her thin frame, suddenly feeling this surge of self-loathing. Even though she'd broken up with Stefan, it felt like cheating on him, and oddly enough, she felt like she'd cheated Damon too.

She was surprised to say the least when she found a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. He was still warm, and she clung to the warmth, unsure how to process anything.

"You're honestly not going to torture yourself over this are you?" he murmured against her ear. "I'm not going to lie, Elena, or sugar coat the truth – it was pretty damn amazing, even by my standards."

Elena lightly hit him, but couldn't help but smile.

"I'm just scared of all these feelings I'm having for you," she admitted, looking down at her hands. "I used to think all I would ever feel for you is hatred, mild disgust at best. But now… I can't breathe when you're around, I can't sleep without you on my mind, I'm even finding it hard being around and not wanting to…"

She stopped, a deep blush flooding her cheeks.

"Wanting to….?" Damon prompted.

"Not wanting to, well, jump you," she admitted, the blush deepening.

Damon gave a mock girlish scream.

"My ears, my ears!" he shrieked, running around the room. "That was, like, information I totally didn't want to hear."

Elena giggled, finding the display hilarious. Damon kept it up for a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of her, the grin on his face akin to the look on a school boy's face after performing a trick. She made a face in response, laughing as he pouted in mock disappointment.

"In all seriousness, I am pretty adorable," Damon said, grinning.

"Cocky much?" Elena pointed out, adopting his smirk.

"Very cocky," he murmured, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

After a few moments of banter, they both separately got dressed, Elena all the while reliving the events of last night. As they headed downstairs, they saw Caroline and Jeremy were already in the living room, quietly discussing something. Their heads turned when they saw Damon and Elena walking in together.

Caroline immediately scrutinised their expressions, a blend of horror and amusement crossing her face when a sudden realization hit her.

"You guys had sex didn't you?" she said bluntly.

"Caroline!" Jeremy and Elena yelled as one.

"Yeah, Caroline!" Damon joined in, trying (and failing) to look indignant. "Stop doing whatever it is you're doing."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't born yesterday," Caroline sniffed haughtily.

"More's the pity, we could've started your personality from scratch," Damon snorted.

"Elena looks flushed and you look even cockier than usual," Caroline responded. "It's not hard to work out something happened between you two last night, and about freakin' time!"

Elena's jaw slackened, as did Jeremy's.

"Er… what?" she asked faintly.

"It was only a matter of time," Caroline announced. "There was something brewing between you two and it was only a matter of time before you spent less time arguing and more time ripping each other's clothes off."

"Dude, seriously! That's my sister," Jeremy complained, covering his ears. "I didn't need to know! I was happily living in Ignorance Town before you opened your mouth."

Caroline gave him a smirk before turning her attention back on Elena and Damon, both of whom wore matching expressions of discomfort.

"So, was he good?" she asked impatiently.

"Car, I'm not having this conversation with you," Elena hissed.

"You slept with me before anyway," Damon added. "So you should remember how insanely awesome I am."

"Oh, yeah…" Caroline smiled in remembrance. "You weren't very good as I recall."

"What?" Damon near enough shrieked. "That's a damn lie."

"Relax, I'm kidding," she snickered. "You were okay."

"I'd like to interrupt this banter now before I develop mental scars," Jeremy growled, glaring at all of them in turn.

"You already have them," Damon dismissed, throwing him a smirk. "Deal with it! If you come here and don't expect mental scars, well, you're much more naïve than I ever gave you credit for."

"Ha, ha," Jeremy said sarcastically. "Excuse me for having a moral backbone."

Damon raised an eyebrow but didn't comment any further.

"So, what were you two lovebirds on about?" he enquired, looking from one to the other.

"Nothing," Jeremy said quickly.

"Really?" Damon said sarcastically. "If you're gonna cheat on the witch with Blondie, at least admit it so I can congratulate you on playing the field like a real man."

"Damon!" Caroline and Elena complained.

"Oh, lighten up!" Damon moaned. "Nobody can take a joke around here. It's quite disturbing." He sat down on the sofa with a loud _oof!_ "Lighten up people!"

"Yeah, let's do that with Klaus still alive and terrorising everyone," Elena said sarcastically. "We have a plan, Damon."

"No, we don't," Damon said quickly.

"Yes, we do!"

"Not a sane one we don't!"

Elena threw her hands in the hair.

"So, what's your plan then? Stab him with any old knife and hope for the best? He's a hybrid now, Damon! He's gonna be even harder to kill."

"Whatever Elena's plan is I'd put my money on her," Caroline put in.

"Why? You've not even heard what it is yet," Damon all but snarled.

"Because I have a lot of faith in Elena," Caroline said simply. "I have faith that she knows what she's doing."

Elena smiled at her, touched by that simple remark.

"Are you questioning the plan, Damon, or me?" she asked, turning back to Damon. "Are you doubting that I could do it?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "You have to put a lot of force into stabbing someone, Elena."

"So you're calling me weak?" Elena challenged.

"No," he said quickly. "I never said weak. I'm just saying, evil or not, when you kill someone that stays with you for the rest of your life. I'd rather spare you all that, even if Klaus does deserve to die a thousand times over."

"And it's my choice to live with the consequences," she said gently, taking his hands in hers. "Please respect my decision, Damon. You don't have to like it, but just support me. Please."

"Don't do that," he hissed, looking irritated.

"Do what?" she asked, looking surprised.

"Assume I'll say yes just because it's _you_ that's asking," he said, releasing her hands. "We'll find another way, Elena."

"There is no other way, that's my point!" she exclaimed, feeling angry again. "God, you are so narrow minded!"

"_God, you are so narrow minded!_" he mimicked.

"Damon!"

"_Damon!"_

"How is there still sexual tension between you two when you've done the dirty deed already?" Caroline yelled, glaring at them both.

Jeremy merely buried his head amongst the cushions of the couch, unable to listen to anything else that left Caroline's mouth.

* * *

Stefan stood outside the house where Elena had been a prisoner, every inch of him tingling with dread. This wasn't easy to do, nor was it easy to prepare himself for, but he knew he had to suck it up and essentially beg for Caroline's life.

A dark haired vampire was there to greet him, his eyes alight with distrust and barely concealed contempt.

"Yes?" he grunted.

"I'm here to see Klaus," Stefan demanded. "Is he in?"

"You're one of those Salvatores," the vampire realized with a coarse grin. "On your own are ya? Looking for a death wish?"

"Look, if I wanted to get insulted on demand, I'd just hang around my brother all day," Stefan snapped. "Is he in or not?"

The man looked visibly amused, probably presuming he'd come to pick a solo fight with Klaus which would inevitably lead to his death. But after a moment's deliberation – drawn out of course – he gestured for him to come inside. He led the tense Stefan down a series of corridors until they arrived at a set of double doors.

"Right through there, sunshine," the man mocked. "Good luck."

Stefan gave him a parting scowl, barely walking through the door before a hand was against his throat pinning him against the wall.

"Well, well," a soft voice purred. "You took away my goddess, forcing me to improvise, and you have the sheer arrogance to walk through these doors again. I've got to admit your courage, I must say."

Releasing him, Klaus scrutinised Stefan carefully, before turning and waving away the few guards he had with him. Elijah, strangely enough, was nowhere to be seen.

"What gives you the courage to call on me?" he enquired, retrieving a blood bag from out of nowhere and sipping on it.

"I need the cure for a werewolf bite," Stefan said, his voice shaking with nerves. "I know you know it."

"Do I now?" Klaus enquired, clearly amused. "And, hypothetically, if I did know this mystical cure what would you be prepared to offer me in return?"

Stefan was prepared for this.

"Me," he said bravely.

"Hmm, it's a tempting offer, no doubt." Klaus circled Stefan slowly. "But what could you offer me, the most powerful creature in existence? I have no use for someone of your calibre… Unless…"

Stefan didn't dare as much as move, so intimidated was he by Klaus's presence. But he knew he couldn't back down now. He'd already given so much just by being here, asking Klaus for a favour like this.

"I once heard whisper of a ripper who wiped out an entire village, leaving nothing but skin and bone behind," Klaus murmured. "Now that kind of vampire I'd be willing to negotiate with, that kind of vampire would be good enough to be my wingman. Sound familiar?"

"That was a long time ago," Stefan said quietly, closing his eyes at the memory.

"Shame. I won't be willing to make any kind of offer unless that vampire makes a reappearance," Klaus said, feigning disappointment. "Oh, well…"

"Wait." Stefan opened his eyes. "Tell me the cure. I need to know there is one before anything else happens."

"Smart lad," Klaus said approvingly. "That I can arrange. You…"

He gestured to the nearest vampire who was lingering just out the door. Grabbing his arm, he proceeded to bite on his arm, which produced an ugly mark which Stefan was becoming all too familiar with. Then, just as quickly, Klaus bit down on his own arm, producing blood and forced the cut to the surprised vampire's mouth. Stefan then watched as the werewolf bite healed before his eyes, his stomach swooping with relief at the fact there was actually a cure.

"Your blood is the cure," he breathed.

"Gotta love Mother Nature," Klaus remarked with a wry grin. "Care for a drink?"

He offered Stefan the blood bag, a look of meaning in his eyes which suggested refusing it would just end in him being turned away empty handed.

"I can't…" Stefan stammered, knowing what the stuff would do to him, knowing how hard he'd had to work to kick the stuff the last time he'd fallen off the wagon.

"Well, then, no deal," Klaus said, with a look of regret on his face. "Who has the bite by the way? Is it your precious brother?"

"No," Stefan snapped. "It's Caroline."

"The shallow blonde?" Klaus looked surprised. "Yes, I've heard about her. You're giving everything up for her? Well, I have seen stranger things, but still…" He waved the bag in Stefan's face. "Guess her life will be pitifully cut short if you can't even have one bag of blood."

Infuriated, Stefan grabbed the bag and pressed it against his lips, gulping down the blood like there was no tomorrow, already feeling like it was changing him the moment it fell down his throat. With it came a sense of power, and he knew know it was just a moment of time before anything Klaus told him to do he wouldn't even question.

When he'd finished the bag, he threw it to one side, his look still pleading, the mission he was on still there in his mind which meant he'd not completely lost his humanity yet, and Klaus seemed to realize that, because he chucked a second bag his way, the smile on his face showing he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Please," he said, as if he was being a gracious host. "Do take some more. You look…hungry. You've been deprived of this for so long, Stefan, so just enjoy yourself."

Stefan tried to resist one last time, but both the call of the blood and the fact he knew there was no other choice meant he had no choice but to down the blood in the second blood bag too. He felt tears spring to his eyes, knowing he was not just letting Elena down but everyone else down too. He was undoing a century's worth of repression.

Before he'd even finished the second bag, a small pile of blood bags had accumulated around him, and he looked up, not even bothering to wipe away the blood traces around his mouth. Klaus nodded at him with approval, the malicious intent visible in his eyes.

"Finish those," he said slowly, still grinning. "And then we'll talk."

And Stefan knew he couldn't have pulled away at this point, even if he'd conjured up every memory of Elena he had to try and seize back control. He was too far gone, and though he knew the price Klaus was asking for was too high to be equal to that of supplying a cure for his dying friend, he knew he had to pay it.

No matter what.

* * *

Elena was slowly starting to pack her things up, preparing to hit the road as soon as she could. The sooner she found Klaus and killed him the better. She planned to make a quiet exit, with no awkward goodbyes in case somehow the road to Klaus ended there. She'd acquired a new car since the crash all those months ago, back when out of town vampires had been the current problem, and she'd not told Damon about it, fearing he would find some way to dismantle it so she couldn't do exactly what it was she was doing.

She knew Damon was never going to be okay with the plan. Hell, they'd ended up in bed together because their argument had boiled over into something neither of them could've controlled. And though she knew she loved him fiercely, she knew she'd rather not risk him finding out about the fact she was going through with the plan.

The dagger was sheathed and wrapped up in the cloth Cat had delivered it to her in, and was hidden underneath her pile of clothes. Alaric on the behalf of Jenna had been bringing by her stuff, which, to the rest of the Mystic Falls community, must've looked like he was throwing her stuff away. She appreciated the efforts Alaric was going to for Jenna and for her. She knew it wasn't easy for Alaric to manage an even more temperamental Jenna but the fact he seemed to love her enough to want to stay with her, vampire or not, really touched her.

"What's going on, Elena?" Caroline suddenly called, noticing the suitcases as she peered around the corner of the door.

"Where's Damon?" Elena countered.

"Out hunting," Caroline said, gazing with a kind of horrified recognition around the room. "Are you leaving?"

"Car…."

"You are, aren't you?" Caroline looked tearful. "Elena, you can't leave now. Not when I…."

She suddenly became quiet, which instantly told Elena she wasn't telling her something. Something big.

"Car…. What's going on?" she said, throwing Caroline's question back at her.

"Nothing," Caroline said quickly. "I just thought, you know, after Matt you'd stick around a little longer. You know, for me."

"Nice try," Elena said, folding her arms. "Tell me the truth, Caroline. I'll tell you what I'm up to, if you tell me what you're hiding from me."

"What makes you - ?"

"Oh, when you know someone for a long time, you get to know the signs when they're hiding something," Elena said airily, sitting on the bed and beckoning for Caroline to do the same.

"Okay, but Stefan will kill me for telling you," Caroline said quietly, rolling up her sleeve and showing Elena her bite mark.

Elena examined the mark curiously before a loud gasp wrenched itself out of her throat. She remembered the werewolf discussions, how the lore said a werewolf bite was fatal to a vampire, and found herself staggering backwards.

"How - ?" she demanded.

"Tyler bit me when he transformed," Caroline admitted. "It was only a nip, mind you."

"You're still alive," Elena said, looking suspicious. "I thought a werewolf bite was instantly fatal."

"Not instantly," Caroline replied, shaking her head. "I've been feeling kind of…weird recently. Like a cold's coming. And I'm either hot or cold all the time, it depends…. It's like a sickness thing."

"Caroline…" Elena looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because with all that's been going on, I didn't want you to have to deal with this too," Caroline sniffed, tears bubbling over in her eyes. "I love you, 'Lena. I hate seeing you hurt and upset."

"Oh, Car…"

The two girls hugged, Elena still trying to process how Caroline could be dying right before her eyes. And the tears of shock wouldn't come – she felt all cried out, if that was even possible.

"Does Damon know?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"No," Caroline mumbled. "And it's better he doesn't know. He doesn't really care about me anyway…"

"That's where you're wrong," a new voice entered the conversation.

They both turned to see a grim faced Damon standing at the door, his eyes fixed on Caroline.

"How could you have not told me?" he demanded, looking pointedly at Caroline. "We could've found a way…"

"Stefan's finding a way," Caroline told him. "But I don't think he's gonna find one. I didn't want to tell anyone else in case the worst happens."

"Listen, Barbie, the worst is gonna happen," Damon told her, zooming in so he was inches away from her. "I've seen the effects of the werewolf bite. It ain't a pretty picture, and not something you want to be handling alone. So ignoring the fact you lied by omission to all of us – your _friends _– I, once again, am going to handle your messes. I told you before not to be Tyler's friend and you didn't listen, so when I find a cure – and I will – I am going to kill you myself."

"Damon," Elena complained. "Could you do sensitivity once in a while?"

"Nope," he said, not even looking at her. "And since you're busy trying to make a sneaky exit without me knowing, I'll let you get back to that."

The sudden coldness in Damon's voice chilled her. She frowned, hurt by his sudden lack of warmth towards her, but otherwise didn't object when he escorted Caroline out of the room.

* * *

Jeremy watched as Bonnie drove back into the driveway, her expression resigned. He bounded over to her, noticing she looked unusually distressed, and immediately folded his arms around her.

"Hey," he murmured. "What happened?"

"I have a feeling Stefan is going to do something really stupid and I can't stop him," Bonnie said, a hitched sob in her throat. "And if he's going to do what I think he's going to do, it'll kill Elena."

"What?" Jeremy cried.

"Not literally, Jer," Bonnie cut across him. "But I don't see how he – "

"How I what?" Stefan said quietly, emerging from behind them.

Bonnie whirled around, her expression filled with relief.

"Stefan!" she cried. "You're here. I thought you were going to go see Klaus."

"I did," Stefan told her, and it was immediately clear there was something different about him.

Everyone seemed to come out at once then. Damon burst out, followed by an edgy Caroline, and even a tentative Elena seemed to follow. Stefan drew back, alarmed by his reception.

"And?" Damon demanded. "Putting aside your stupidity for the moment, you must've got some sort of good news because you're here."

"I do," Stefan said, his voice detached, his eyes distant.

He pulled out a jar filled with thick red blood and tossed it to Caroline, who caught it.

"There's the cure," he said, gazing around at everyone in turn, his eyes hovering on Elena. "I'd drink it all just to be safe."

He turned to leave, before an arm wrenched him back.

"Where are you going?" Damon demanded. "You not going to say what that cost you to get? I bet it cost an arm and a leg."

"It cost me nothing more than what I already had," Stefan remarked indifferently. "I'm leaving Mystic Falls, Damon. With Klaus."

Elena suddenly stormed forward, her expression filled with a mixture of horror and confusion.

"You're leaving?" she demanded. "Why?"

"Because I have to," he told her, every ounce of warmth about him gone. "And I'm supposed to pass on a message. Klaus says if you try to follow him, try to save me in any way, he'll turn this town into his playground and make the skies rain blood."

"Stefan," Elena whispered brokenly, grabbing his arm.

He gently detached himself from her, suddenly turning to glare at Bonnie.

"Your attempts at disarming me are futile, Bonnie," he told her, and it was clear she'd been trying to incapacitate him. "I'm stronger now. Tougher. Klaus taught me a few tricks."

Damon made to punch his brother, mostly out of irritation, but Stefan caught his fist and twisted sharply, forcing Damon to his knees.

"Let's be clear about one thing," he said sharply, looking at everyone and their shock expressions. "I am a lost cause. I'm dead to you all. Don't come looking for me, or I'll be the one to kill you myself."

"Stefan!" Elena cried, running after him as he turned to leave.

He broke into a run and she followed him, desperate to try and find him. She started to cry as she ran, the remnants of her love for him spurring her on. She didn't falter, even when she tripped and grazed her knees, and just carried on running.

"DAMN IT, STEFAN! YOU COME BACK NOW!" she screamed into the night. "COME BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

She ran as far as she could before she collapsed to her knees, her stomach heaving with the various emotions she was trying to control. Eventually, the contents of her stomach resurfaced in a violent form, and she curled into a ball, sobbing into her hands, refusing to believe that the Stefan she'd seen was her Stefan.

She barely felt the rain, or the hands that gently scooped her up. She barely saw past her tears, otherwise she might've seen the shadow in the background watching her with an equally broken expression, before he slowly turned and walked away, thus closing the chapter on their relationship for good.

* * *

Morning came.

Elena hadn't slept a wink. She'd merely sat by her suitcases, staring at the door, as if hoping Stefan would walk back in. It wouldn't change anything, of course, because she still had unresolved feelings for Damon she needed to deal with, and of course she'd be mega pissed at him for pulling that kind of stunt in the first place, but she just needed some hope.

Caroline had tentatively drank the blood in the jar, and her wound had healed much to everyone's astonishment, although she still appeared ashen in colour. She also refused to let anyone speak of the incident again, determined not to dwell on the price that had been paid in healing her, although that all she was doing anyway.

Damon had surprised everyone. He'd remained cool and collective, telling everyone they would find him. But Elena remained the only one who'd heard him slamming his hands against the wall in his bedroom, the only one who'd seen him walk past with a dead expression (pun definitely unintended).

He walked in now, his expression for once unreadable.

"Alright," he said, making her jump slightly from the sheer volume of his voice. "We'll do it your way."

"What?" she asked, her voice quiet, emotionless.

"We'll go after Klaus," he clarified, looking at her. "Together."

Elena snapped out of her zombie-like state to stare at him.

"You serious?" she asked tentatively.

"Yep. I'm fed up of everyone acting like the world is ending, fed up of my dumb brother making everyone act and behave like zombies, yourself included," he said. "So, I'm gonna do it your way for once, Elena. If you have to be the one to kill him, well, I'm gonna be there to help you every step of the way."

She looked at him as though she'd never seen him before. Taking one of his hands in hers, she lightly squeezed his hand, unable to think of anything to say to express her sheer gratitude.

"I want my brother back, Elena," he added, sounding worn. "I want to wake up in the morning and not feel like I've got a mission and a half to worry about. I want Klaus dead and gone forever, with nothing else to worry about for the rest of time. If this is the only way to do it, well, to hell with everything else."

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest as he came to sit by her on the bed.

"I can't come back here once Klaus is dead," she added, thinking ahead. "So where…?"

"I know this great little place we can stay after this is all over," he told her. "It's just a bit of a trek to get there, but I'm sure we'll manage."

She frowned, curious.

"Why, where is it?"

His lips were by her ear, his cool breath making her shudder with pleasure.

"Fancy Italy?"

And as he began to describe the lush valleys, the beautiful grapevines, and the collection of Italian culture, she gave her first genuine smile of the day, turning her head to smile at him, before leaning in and planting a tender kiss against his lips.

"Together?" she prompted.

"Together," he agreed.

They could've been talking about finding Stefan, going to Italy, or just genuinely talking about themselves. Maybe all three. All Elena knew was that empty feeling she'd had inside her since her parents' deaths, was slowly starting to fade.

"I love you, Elena," he told her earnestly, cupping her face in his hands. "And I can't think of anyone better to go Klaus slaying with than you. I'm not going to let you do this by yourself."

She grinned, despite herself.

"I love you too," she whispered, leaning her head against his. "Even if you are an obnoxious pain in the ass half the time."

"Hey, at least mine was nice!"

She laughed, shoving him to one side, accidentally causing a mock fight to start between them.

Tomorrow was painted with uncertainty, that was for sure. But just for today, she could lose herself in the future Damon had painted for her. And with her secret weapon tucked away, she knew all they had left was the element of surprise.

Well, that, an ace card she kept firmly up her sleeve, something Cat had told her seconds before she'd died. It was important – nay, critical - Damon never found out what that ace was.

But maybe she would never have to use it. And she buried herself in the comfort of Damon's arms, determined that when the time came to meet her destiny, she would meet it with both arms wide open.

And that right there was the difference between her and Katherine, the fundamental difference she'd been hoping to find.

It didn't matter she'd loved both brothers, or the fact she had the same Petrova fire flowing through her veins.

As Cat had put it herself, the underlining differences came down to their individual choices. Katherine had chosen to run, chosen to become a vampire, whereas Elena had chosen to stay and fight, remaining human in the process.

And now, she was going to meet the fight and end Klaus once and for all.

And though she'd hoped to keep Damon out of it, she was kind of glad he would be there for her through thick and thin and the moments in between.

It made her love him even more.

* * *

**A/n: Thank you so much for all the reviews/faves/alerts! You guys are so awesome and amazing for sticking with this story. The sequel will tie up any loose ends presented in this. Some reviewers have given me interesting ideas I'd not quite thought of to incorporate in the sequel. The sequel will be called Back to Black and the first chapter will be up in the next few weeks, so look out for that. :) **


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